The city was a small manorial borough in the 13th century and a market town in the 16th century. It expanded by becoming a major production centre, including of carbonated water where it was invented in the 1760s, and trading centre (mainly with wool) for the 17th and 18th centuries. It was a major mill town during the Industrial Revolution. It was also known for its flax industry, iron foundries, engineering and printing, as well as shopping, with several surviving Victorian era arcades, such as Kirkgate Market. City status was awarded in 1893, a populous urban centre formed in the following century which absorbed surrounding villages and overtook the nearby York population.

It is located about halfway between London and Edinburgh and has multiple motorway links; the M1, M62 and A1(M). The city’s railway station is, alongside Manchester Piccadilly, the busiest of its kind in Northern England. It is the county’s largest settlement with a population of 516,298, while the larger City of Leeds district had a population of 812,000 (2021 estimate). The city is part of a built-up area, with 1.7 million it is the fourth-largest built-up area by population in the United Kingdom.

In 2017, Leeds had the third busiest railway station outside of London. From the station at New Station Street, West Yorkshire Metro trains operated by Northern run to Leeds’ suburbs, the wider area, national and international connections. It has 17 platforms, the most outside of London.

Leeds Bradford International Airport is located in Yeadon, about 8 miles (13 km) to the north-west of the city centre, and has direct flights to eight UK destinations and 70 international destinations. The airport is the tenth busiest airport outside London, with scheduled services running to London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Dublin and Barcelona. There is also a direct rail service from Leeds to Manchester Airport.

The city is served by five universities, has the UK’s fourth-largest student population and the country’s fourth-largest urban economy. Institutions providing higher education include the following:
The University of Leeds, which received its charter in 1904 having developed from the Yorkshire College which was founded in 1874 and the Leeds School of Medicine of 1831
Leeds Beckett University, formerly Leeds Polytechnic, which became a university in 1992 as Leeds Metropolitan University, and can trace its roots to the Mechanics’ Institute of 1824
Leeds Trinity University, which began in 1966 as two teacher training colleges which merged in 1980 to form Trinity and All Saints College and became a university in 2012
Leeds Arts University, formerly Leeds College of Art, which was founded in 1846 as the Leeds School of Art, and became a university in 2017
The University of Law, formerly the College of Law, which became a university in 2012 and moved to its current Leeds centre campus from York in 2014

The city has teams representing all the major national sports. Leeds United F.C. is the city’s main football club Leeds United was formed in 1919 and plays at the 37,890-capacity Elland Road Stadium in Beeston. The team rejoined the Premier League, following a sixteen-year stint in lower divisions, after they won promotion by winning the EFL Championship in 2019–20.

Leeds Rhinos are the most successful rugby league team in Leeds. In 2009, they became the first club to be Super League champions three seasons running, giving them their fourth Super League title.

Headingley Cricket Stadium is home to Yorkshire County Cricket Club which is the most successful cricket team in England, with 33 County Championship wins (including one shared). Their main rivals are Lancashire.

In 2018, Leeds embarked on a five-year cultural investment programme, culminating in a year of cultural celebration in 2023. In 2023 the city will hold an international cultural festival which will harness the energy, creativity and momentum of the bid to be European Capital of Culture 2023, from which Leeds and other candidate UK cities were disqualified following the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union.