Areas / Indigo / Rutherglen

Rutherglen flood map & planning overlays

Rutherglen: 2,579 people and 153 heritage places, 2nd in Indigo.

Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.

A planning-constraint profile of Rutherglen (Indigo, VIC) - 125.43 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Rutherglen'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 Rutherglen

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 24 Oct 2026

Under observed aircraft
16%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
0%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
3,500 ft
averaging 6,500 ft
How often
not established
aircraft were seen, but not often enough to put a rate on

Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.

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.

Rutherglen at a glance

Parcels 2,759 Median lot 1,201 m² Mapped easements 542 Bus stops 3

How Rutherglen is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ) 83%
Rural Activity Zone (RAZ1) 6%
Public Use Zone (PUZ7) 2%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 2%
General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 2%
Low Density Residential Zone (LDRZ) 2%

Selling in Rutherglen? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.

Across its 125.43 km², Rutherglen is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 3% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 99% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 153 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ). The median lot measures about 1,201 m² across 2,759 parcels.

Who lives in Rutherglen

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Rutherglen suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
2,579
usual residents, 2021
Median age
48
years
Median household income
$1,306
per week, Indigo suburb typical $1,711
Median rent
$250
per week, Indigo suburb typical $250
Median mortgage
$1,300
per month
Household size
2.3
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 945, and decile 2 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Rutherglen's 2,579 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 4.8%
5-14 11.8%
15-19 5.5%
20-24 3.8%
25-34 9.9%
35-44 10.4%
45-54 12.2%
55-64 14.8%
65-74 15.4%
75-84 8.3%
85+ 3.1%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Rutherglen, the wider ABS statistical area containing Rutherglen. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Rutherglen itself.

3,432 in 2001 to 4,120 in 2025, up 20%.

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.

Rutherglen data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
ZoningMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)

Profile last materially updated 24 October 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 Rutherglen 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 →

The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Rutherglen lot.

Rutherglen planning - frequently asked

Is Rutherglen flood-prone?

About 3% of Rutherglen falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 15%.

Is Rutherglen bushfire-prone?

Around 99% of Rutherglen is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Indigo average of 99%.

Is Rutherglen under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed over about 16% of Rutherglen in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 3,500 ft. 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 Rutherglen?

The dominant planning zone in Rutherglen is Farming Zone (FZ), though the suburb also includes Rural Activity Zone (RAZ1) and Public Use Zone (PUZ7).

Does Rutherglen have heritage-listed places?

Rutherglen has 153 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Rutherglen?

Across 2,759 surveyed parcels in Rutherglen, the median lot size is about 1,201 m². There are also 542 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Rutherglen have a train station?

There is no train station inside Rutherglen itself. The suburb is served by 3 bus stops.

What is the population of Rutherglen?

At the 2021 Census Rutherglen had 2,579 usual residents, with a median age of 48 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Rutherglen statistical area, which contains Rutherglen, went from 3,432 people in 2001 to 4,120 in 2025, up 20%.

Is Rutherglen an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Rutherglen scores 945 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Rutherglen?

Median household income in Rutherglen was $1,306 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,711 for the typical suburb in Indigo. Median rent was $250 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,300 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Carlyle 7.4 km 18% 100%
Lilliput 7.8 km 0% 100%
Cornishtown 8.7 km Not mapped 100%
Wahgunyah 8.8 km 27% 99%
Gooramadda 10.4 km 44% 100%
Chiltern Valley 10.4 km 0% 100%
Norong 12.0 km 28% 100%
Browns Plains 12.9 km 15% 100%
Springhurst
Wangaratta		 16.3 km 3% 100%
Barnawartha 17.6 km 10% 100%

See all Indigo suburb profiles →