St Ruth flood map & planning overlays
The Western Downs St Ruth is the youngest suburb in the region, median age 30.
Most lots here are flood-mapped. The free check shows how much of one lot the overlay covers.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of St Ruth
(Western Downs Regional, QLD) - 172.87 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
172.87 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to St Ruth's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over St Ruth
The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026
typical observed square 0 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 4,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
How this is measured
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
St Ruth at a glance
Schools in and near St Ruth
Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual address to a catchment.
Inside the suburb boundary
0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 4.03 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 5.69 km from the suburb boundary
Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time; use the official catchment finder for a specific address.
How St Ruth is zoned
Selling in St Ruth? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.
Across its 172.87 km², St Ruth is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 99% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 7% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 402,382 m² across 230 parcels.
Who lives in St Ruth
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the St Ruth suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1023, and decile 9 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of St Ruth's 165 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Wambo, the wider ABS statistical area containing St Ruth. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than St Ruth itself.
15,011 in 2001 to 17,853 in 2025, up 19%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
St Ruth data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
Profile last materially updated 7 November 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific St Ruth address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
See what's in the $9 report →Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 18% of St Ruth. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Published flood models are held over parts of St Ruth. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a St Ruth lot.
St Ruth planning - frequently asked
Is St Ruth flood-prone?
About 99% of St Ruth falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 49%. Published flood models are held over parts of St Ruth; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is St Ruth bushfire-prone?
Around 7% of St Ruth is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Western Downs Regional average of 43%.
Is St Ruth under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 18% of St Ruth, and over about 78% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,500 ft, with an average of 4,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 2 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in St Ruth?
The dominant planning zone in St Ruth is Rural, though the suburb also includes Community facilities and Recreation and open space.
Does St Ruth have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within St Ruth.
What is the typical lot size in St Ruth?
Across 230 surveyed parcels in St Ruth, the median lot size is about 402,382 m². There are also 3 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of St Ruth?
At the 2021 Census St Ruth had 165 usual residents, with a median age of 30 and an average household size of 3.2 people. The wider Wambo statistical area, which contains St Ruth, went from 15,011 people in 2001 to 17,853 in 2025, up 19%.
Is St Ruth an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), St Ruth scores 1023 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in St Ruth?
Median household income in St Ruth was $1,812 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,432 for the typical suburb in Western Downs Regional. Median rent was $220 a week and the median mortgage repayment $509 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Ruth Toowoomba Regional |
8.0 km | 97% | 0% |
| Springvale | 9.9 km | 98% | 5% |
| Nandi | 12.4 km | 93% | 14% |
| Formartin Toowoomba Regional |
16.2 km | 97% | 0% |
| Tipton Toowoomba Regional |
16.5 km | 100% | 10% |
| Blaxland | 16.9 km | 95% | <1% |
| Wainui Toowoomba Regional |
17.6 km | 67% | 9% |
| Grassdale Toowoomba Regional |
17.9 km | 69% | 20% |
| Bowenville Toowoomba Regional |
18.5 km | 68% | 5% |
| West Prairie Toowoomba Regional |
18.7 km | 98% | 0% |