Mount Riverview

Development Activity

Schools in Mount Riverview iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged

Demographics

The median age of 40 matches the national figure exactly, though the aging trajectory tells a different story: the senior share rose 4.0 points and the young-adult share fell 4.7 points over the decade, pushing the suburb toward an older profile than the headline number suggests. University qualifications reach 37.6%, which is 7.5 points above the national average, consistent with a professional-leaning workforce. Overseas-born residents at 15.4% sit 6.2 points below the national average, making this an Anglo-dominant community: English ancestry leads at 1,369 residents, followed by Irish (463) and Scottish (367). Average household size of 2.8 is 0.3 above the national figure, reflecting the family-home character. Couples with children (1,286 families) are the dominant household type, and volunteering runs at 19.1%, above typical suburban norms.

Tenure is divided clearly: 42.1% own outright, 46.1% carry a mortgage and just 11.8% rent, giving a combined owner-occupancy rate of 88.2%, higher than most NSW suburbs. Stock is overwhelmingly separate houses at 99.4%, with semi-detached and apartment options combined at under 1%, so the market offers almost no alternative entry points. Four-plus bedroom homes dominate at 56.4% and three-bedroom homes at 40.3%, pointing to large family dwellings rather than starter stock. Median prices rose from $1,000,000 in 2024 to $1,080,000 in 2025 before settling at $1,042,000 in the combined 2024-2025 measure, a trajectory of roughly 8% annual growth. Mortgage-to-income at 24.5% and rent-to-income at 20.0% are both below stress thresholds, meaning current owners and renters are managing housing costs comfortably relative to income.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

The local workforce concentrates in Education (19.6%, 215 workers) and Healthcare (18.0%, 197 workers), which together account for nearly 38% of employed residents, consistent with Blue Mountains communities that rely on public-sector anchors. Public Administration follows at 10.8% and Construction at 10.2%, with Professional and Technical services rounding out at 8.0%. By occupation, Professionals (433) and Managers (231) are the two largest groups, which aligns with the 37.6% university qualification rate that is 7.5 points above national. Unemployment is 3.6% and the full-time employment rate is 67.0%, with 872 residents in full-time work and 429 part-time. Household income in the 84.8th percentile nationally, at $2,248 per week, reflects this professional and managerial concentration despite a relatively small labour force of 1,350 employed.

Transport to Work

Car dependency is extreme: 89.6% of residents drive to work, the highest mode share category, while public transport accounts for just 2.5% and walking or cycling 0.5%. This is consistent with a low-density suburb of 3.01 square kilometres without rail access, where car ownership is effectively essential. The suburb holds SEIFA IRSAD decile 1, which places it in the bottom tenth nationally for relative advantage, a counterintuitive reading that likely reflects the low renter share and rural fringe location rather than genuine disadvantage, as household income in the 84.8th percentile tells a different story. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary in this dataset, so families use services in neighbouring areas. The need-for-assistance rate of 4.9% (148 residents) is low, and housing stress by both rent and mortgage metrics is below threshold.

Population Forecast

Population has been essentially flat since 2023, moving from 3,163 to 3,169 to 3,168 across three years, and the medium forecast sees a slow decline to 3,065 by 2031, a fall of about 0.3% per year. The 10-year population change is minus 5.3%, confirming an established suburb losing residents at the margin. Migration provides limited offset: net overseas arrivals average 17 per year and internal migration adds just 7, totalling about 24 new residents annually against natural attrition from an aging base. The gentrification score reads 0 with no active signals, consistent with a suburb already at high income levels with no room to climb on that measure. Affordability has worsened over the decade, with mortgage-to-income moving from 43.0% in 2011 to 54.3% in 2021, which compresses the pool of buyers who can enter without significant equity.

National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs

How Mount Riverview compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

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