Leetsdale was incorporated on March 28, 1904. Leetsdale at one time had a formidable industrial manufacturing base, with a Bethlehem Steel mill that closed in the late 1970s. The site of the mill on the shore of the Ohio River is now the Leetsdale Industrial Park, or the Port of Leetsdale, and is home to facilities leased, by The Buncher Company, to a number of companies of varying sizes.[5] The Leetsdale Industrial Park was largely a brownfield until the 1990s. Today, only a few of the original buildings still stand. In 2022, CGI Steel and Nextracker renovated an abandoned steel factory to produce solar tracker equipment.[6]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), of which 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2), or 13.91%, is water.
On November 18, 2021, Democratic mayor Peter Poninsky, who had been mayor of the town for 19 years, lost his reelection bid to fellow Democrat Sandra Ford.[citation needed]
As of the 2000 census,[15] there were 1,232 people, 586 households, and 370 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,246.0 inhabitants per square mile (481.1/km2). There were 653 housing units at an average density of 660.4 per square mile (255.0/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.20% White, 7.31% African American, 0.65% from other races, and 2.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.62% of the population.
There were 586 households, out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.80.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $28,672, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $31,932 versus $25,750 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,172. About 9.6% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.1% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
