In the summer of 2007, over of gasoline leaked from a storage tank beneath the Top Stop gas station, located on the corner of South Main and East Center and owned by Wind River Petroleum. The gasoline leaked throughout the soil beneath South Main Street and eventually throughout the southwest side of town, contaminating businesses and homes. On August 10, 2007, local and state officials ordered the temporary evacuation of an entire Main Street block, heavily populated with businesses, because of the fumes from the gasoline leak. In the weeks following, Wasatch Environmental installed underground soil-ventilation systems. Several businesses, including the Top Stop, permanently closed, and some homes were evacuated. Gunnison City, along with a number of businesses and residents, filed suit against Wind River Petroleum over the handling of the gas leak. As of 2010, approximately $3 million had been spent on the cleanup, which is expected to last a decade. Gunnison City recently completed a Main Street rehabilitation project valued at over $1 million. While working together with Sanpete County in the "façade initiative", Gunnison City has seen a 25% increase of gross sales following the renovation of downtown Gunnison. Gunnison City is working diligently to encourage economic development and stands behind the city's motto of "Progress with Purpose".
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,394 people, 513 households, and 410 families residing in the city. The population density was 451.9 people per square mile. There were 549 housing units at an average density of 103.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 88.35% White, 1.84% African American, 2.51% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.58% Pacific Islander, 3.97% from other races, and 8.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.10% of the population. There were 513 households, out of which 45.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.1% were married couplesliving together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.59. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 197.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 240.6 males. The startling ratio of women to men is due to the presence of the Central Utah Correctional Facility, which is located one half mile northeast of downtown Gunnison. This state-run prison opened in 1990, has a capacity of 1500 inmates, and currently houses only male offenders. The median income for a household in the city was $33,147, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $27,207 versus $23,958 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,537. About 9.8% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
