The name Rüte goes back to Reuten, which refers to the German word roden (wood clearing).

Rüte has an area, as of 2011[update], of 40.9 square kilometers (15.8 sq mi).

[2] The district stretches from Altmann in the south to the hill country around the Hirschberg in the north.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Sable a Semi Swan Argent langued and beaked Gules issuant from a Crown Or adorned of the third.

[3] The coat of arms shows a golden crown on a black background.

This is a modified version of the coat of arms of the Schönenbühl family who were the landlords of the abbey in St. Gallen in the 13th century.

[2] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (2,841 or 97.5%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (19 or 0.7%) and Italian being third (10 or 0.3%).

[7] About 63.8% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).

The greatest number of single family homes (95) were built between 1981 and 1990.

[2] The historical population is given in the following chart:[1][10] The Alte Bleiche on Bleichestrasse 8, the Altwasser-Höhle (a late paleolithic shelter) and the Farm House at Blumenau are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

In the federal election, a total of 474 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 21.4%.

[2] There were 1,449 residents of the district who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.0% of the workforce.

The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 196 of which 98 or (50.0%) were in manufacturing, 1 was in mining and 97 (49.5%) were in construction.

In the tertiary sector; 65 or 26.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 26 or 10.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 73 or 29.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 1.2% were in the information industry, 2 or 0.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 19 or 7.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 19 or 7.8% were in education and 7 or 2.9% were in health care.

From the 2000 census[update], 2,585 or 88.7% were Roman Catholic, while 197 or 6.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.