Ruthven NSW 2480
Ruthven is a rural locality in New South Wales, 716 km from Sydney CBD, around 7 hours 45 minutes by car. Population is 114; the median age is 40 and the median household income is $114,816 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population grew 10.7% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $313 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,192. The area shows no recorded bushfire exposure. Walkability is low.
This locality is too small to rate.
The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 114. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.
How do you rate the liveability in Ruthven?
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Our score
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Median House Price
Q4 2025Ruthven's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $890,000 in the December 2025 quarter, roughly 11% below where it sat a year earlier. That said, only four sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level. Zoom out: prices have climbed roughly 82% over the past decade — 6.9% per year on average.
$890,000
Based on only 4 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Rental Market
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $680/wk
- 79 bonds
- +37% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $445/wk
- 30 bonds
- +46% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2480 (NSW publishes bonds by postcode, which can cover several suburbs). Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025103 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 29% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2480.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Short-Stay Rentals
No active Airbnb listings.
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months.
Is Ruthven safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Ruthven sits in the moderate band, with 3 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 50% on the prior year.
3 offences
50.0% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–2025No crash in Ruthven killed anyone or put anyone in hospital in 2021–2025.
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the locality carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.
Council Flood Studies
Lismore City Council has published 4 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
Schools
Walkability
Ruthven is very car-dependent on foot — at 8/100, nearly all errands require a car.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Ruthven.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 44
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Lismore: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
Ruthven is home to 114 residents, with a median age of 40, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $115,000 a year, with unemployment at 0.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
114
Median Age
40
Median Household Income
$114,816/yr
Census Median Rent
$313/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,192/mo
Avg Household Size
2.9
Median Personal Income
$46,800/yr
Unemployment Rate
0.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
10.3%
Total Dwellings
29
Owner-Occupier Rate
88.0%
Houses
100.0%
Rental Stress
14.2%
Mortgage Stress
22.9%
Work From Home
15.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 80.7%
- English Spoken at Home
- 86.0%
- Employment Rate
- 61.4%
- Completed Year 12
- 31.6%
Occupations
Religion
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,487 a year through Lismore based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 97%
- Environmental 3%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Lismore
In the year to August 2026, 138 new dwellings were approved across Lismore. That mix is 70 houses and 68 units.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Ngulingah Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Local Aboriginal Land Councils are statutory bodies under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, responsible for land claims and land management for their members. Their boundaries are administrative and are not a statement of whose Country this is. NSW does not publish a register of Aboriginal parties by area — they are registered for each project.
Setting
- Elevation
- 18 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 21.1 km
Elevation is the ground at the locality centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
EV adoption
In postcode 2480, 213 of 37,524 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.3% (1,250 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.9%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2480, 13,200 rooftop-solar systems totalling 80.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 19,120 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 817 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$10,000 for new homes priced up to $600,000.
Off-the-plan or contracted-build value cap is $750,000 (vs $600,000 for completed new homes). Stamp duty concessions are a separate scheme (First Home Buyers Assistance).
Mortgage repayments
Q4-2025 median6 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2480.
Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Revenue NSW
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $600,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with Revenue NSW.
At $890,000 this is $290,000 above the $600,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Revenue NSW.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Kevin Hogan The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kevin Hogan | 40.7% | 59.3% | +1.4 |
| 2022 | Kevin Hogan | 39.3% | 60.7% | +1.3 |
| 2019 | Kevin Hogan | 40.5% | 59.5% | +7.2 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Janelle Saffin Labor
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Janelle Saffin ALP | 65.0% |
| 2019 | Janelle Saffin ALP | 51.4% |
| 2015 | Thomas George NP | 52.9% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.
Looking at a specific address in Ruthven?
Every figure above is a locality average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 114 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Ruthven to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about Ruthven
Is Ruthven a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Ruthven is moderate (58/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Ruthven?
Ruthven has no recorded bushfire history. These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
What is the population of Ruthven?
Ruthven, NSW had a population of 114 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Ruthven, NSW?
The postcode for Ruthven, NSW is 2480.
How far is Ruthven from Sydney?
Ruthven is 716 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 466 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Ruthven?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Ruthven was $114,816 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Ruthven?
There are too few current rental listings in Ruthven for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $313, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Ruthven?
The median age of residents in Ruthven was 40 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Ruthven walkable?
Ruthven scores 8/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the median house price in Ruthven?
The median sale price for houses in Ruthven was $890,000 in the Q4 2025 quarter, based on a small sample of 4 sales — take as indicative.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Ruthven?
First-home buyers in NSW may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $600,000. The grant is administered by Revenue NSW; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Ruthven belong to?
Ruthven sits within the Lismore local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Ruthven?
The average residential rates bill through Lismore is $1,487 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Ruthven?
Across Lismore, 138 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Ruthven in?
Ruthven sits within the federal Division of Page, currently held by Kevin Hogan (The Nationals).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Q4 2025
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- State electorate · 2023
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.