Leggett (formerly Leggett Valley) is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located on the South Fork of the Eel River, by road northwest of Laytonville, at an elevation of . It is home to some of the largest trees in the world. The nearby Smithe Redwoods State Natural Reserve and Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area are noted for their forests of coastal redwoods. The population of Leggett was 77 at the 2020 census, down from 122 at the 2010 census.
The community is served by California's State Route 1, whose northern terminus with U.S. Route 101 is just outside the center of town.
The town of Leggett includes a single gas station, United States Post Office, 1-12 school, a small grocery store, restaurant, full-service mechanic (ask a local), fire station and the Drive-Thru Tree.
The Leggett post office was dedicated in 1969.
Leggett is in northwestern Mendocino County, in the valley of the South Fork Eel River. U.S. Route 101 leads north from Leggett to Garberville and to Eureka, while to the south it leads to Ukiah, the Mendocino county seat. California State Route 1 has its northern terminus at US 101 in Leggett and leads southwest to Westport on the Pacific Ocean.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Leggett CDP covers an area of , all of it land.
South Leggett is an unincorporated community along U.S. Route 101, south-southeast of Leggett, at an elevation of .
The region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above and cool, very wet winters receiving abundant rainfall, due to its location in the coastal ranges and proximity to the ocean, allowing the collection of heavy amounts of moisture. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Leggett has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.
Leggett first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.
The 2020 United States census reported that Leggett had a population of 77. The population density was . The racial makeup of Leggett was 56 (73%) White, 0 (0%) African American, 0 (0%) Native American, 0 (0%) Asian, 0 (0%) Pacific Islander, 13 (17%) from other races, and 8 (10%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17 persons (22%).
The whole population lived in households. There were 35 households, out of which 7 (20%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8 (23%) were married-couple households, 9 (26%) were cohabiting couple households, 3 (9%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 15 (43%) had a male householder with no partner present. 5 households (14%) were one person, and 2 (6%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.20. There were 19 families (54% of all households).
The age distribution was 12 people (16%) under the age of 18, 7 people (9%) aged 18 to 24, 26 people (34%) aged 25 to 44, 20 people (26%) aged 45 to 64, and 12 people (16%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 40.5years. There were 39 males and 38 females.
There were 62 housing units at an average density of , of which 35 (56%) were occupied. Of these, 17 (49%) were owner-occupied, and 18 (51%) were occupied by renters.
The Amtrak Thruway 7 bus provides daily connections to/from Leggett (with a curbside stop at 69501 Highway 101 North), Martinez to the south, and Arcata to the north. Additional Amtrak connections are available from Martinez station.
In the state legislature, Leggett is in , and .
Federally, Leggett is in .