Formerly known as Bennington, Leeds was formed due to flooding in the neighboring town of Harrisburg. The residents in the flood-affected areas decided to move to this area in 1867. It was renamed in honor of Leeds in England, the origin of many of its settlers. In recent years, the city's proximity to the ghost town of Silver Reef, the Pine Valley Mountains, and Zion National Park have changed the local economic base from agriculture to tourism. On June 17, 2009, Utah police and forest rangers destroyed about 8,750 marijuana plants growing in Washington County. Law enforcement reported Mexicancartels have moved their growing operations to Utah to avoid the U.S.-Mexico border and police pressure in California. There were no arrests made and the marijuana fields were in the Pine Valley Mountains near Leeds. Doug Roe, a special agent with the United States Forest Service, said the plants were young and not ready for harvesting.
As of the census of 2000, there were 547 people, 207 households, and 157 families residing in the town. The population density was 267.7 people per square mile. There were 240 housing units at an average density of 117.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 94.15% White, 0.73% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 1.10% Pacific Islander, 2.01% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.93% of the population. There were 207 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.6% were married couplesliving together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $19,688 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,568. About 4.0% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
