Sydney suburb Ku-ring-gai was ranked first with Greater Hume the best ranked Riverina shire at 34th but several mayors don’t see much credence in the study.

Despite the result, which ranked 510 local government areas across Australia, the mayors believe the Riverina is still a great place to live.

The Greater Hume Shire Council was ranked number one in rural NSW and 34th in Australia, while Wagga finished 291st, Albury 410th and Griffith was 432nd.

Wagga City Council mayor Kerry Pascoe said it was an opportunity for Wagga to improve.

“The majority of people love the Wagga lifestyle and I’m sure if people from Sydney tested our city then they would be quite surprised,” Cr Pascoe said.

Tumut lost out to its local rivals Tumbarumba (194) and Gundagai (218) by being ranked 351st, but mayor Gene Vanzella still believes the shire has a lot to offer.

“I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the Tumut Shire has a very attractive lifestyle,” Cr Vanzella said.

“We know what we’ve got here and opportunities for work, education, sport and social involvement are excellent.”

Greater Hume Shire was ranked as the most affordable shire in NSW, with a median house price of $168,000, almost $207,000 below the state average.

Shire general manager Steve Pinnuck said it was a great tribute to the people of Greater Hume.

“This report highlights all the good work that council and the community has been doing to promote the lifestyle available in our region. We have a great location between Albury and Wagga with health and education systems that few rural areas can match,” he said.

EXECUTIVE officer of the Riverina Region Development Board Peter Dale has dismissed

a BankWest report that ranks the Riverina’s quality of life behind Sydney.

Greater Hume Shire Council

was ranked 34th in the country behind Ku-ring-gai in first place,

as well as eight Sydney locations and a further eight Melbourne areas.

Mr Dale said the result contradicted Riverina growth rates.

“I would treat the results with some scepticism when we’ve seen a 1.7 per cent growth rate in Wagga compared to 1.2 per cent in Sydney,” Mr Dale said.

Mr Dale said there was a lot of evidence to suggest the lifestyle in rural NSW was a lot less stressful than in the major cities.

According to the report, Coolamon has the lowest crime rate against property in NSW and the Greater Hume Shire has the best median house prices.