Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,693, settled in 1859.
Gunnison gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $291K for a typical one, or 4.2 years of the county’s $70K median household income. It grades B overall, 83rd of 118 graded towns in Utah. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $71K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Gunnison, above both the Utah town median (6.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On health, just 12 of Utah’s 172 towns do worse. Gunnison's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 89% of U.S. towns.
Where Gunnison beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Gunnison Valley School | PK–5 | 584 |
| Gunnison Valley Middle | 6–8 | 262 |
| Gunnison Valley High | 9–12 | 319 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Utah), ordered by how far Gunnison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 475 in 1870, 3,509 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 2 maps from 1966 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gunnison, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 13, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Gunnison.
Gunnison has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Utah; it also has poverty well above the Utah rate.
6.5 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in Gunnison is 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gunnison City Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the South Sanpete District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Gunnison Valley High, with 319 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunnison Valley SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 584 | B− |
| Gunnison Valley HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 319 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within UT on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Scipio weather station, 17 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 122 days, shorter than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Gunnison has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Gunnison’s July high is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 922 working residents takes 16.1 minutes, against 22.1 across Utah. Jobs based here grew from 874 in 2013 to 1,351.
About one in 4 of Gunnison’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Gunnison grew to 1,351 in 2023, 477 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Centerfield (6%), Salt Lake City (6%) and Salina (4%).
| Gunnison | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Utah it is less healthy than 97% of the 118 graded towns: Utah sets a high bar.
Gunnison beats the Utah average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 65% of Gunnison adults had a checkup this year. No town among the 118 in Utah we compare has a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Gunnison.
| Gunnison | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 65% | 72% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 9.5% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 8% | 14% |
| What stands out | Gunnison | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6% | 7.2% |
| More smokers | 15.1% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Gunnison; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Gunnison residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Utah.
3 places in Gunnison on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Utah, United States
Gunnison is a city in the Sevier Valley in southwestern Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,509 at the 2020 census. The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer who surveyed for the transcontinental railroad in 1853.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Gunnison grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #83 of 118 in Utah. It grades B− for health and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
