Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, composed of Columbia County, as well as a principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida. Lake City is 60 miles west of Jacksonville. Lake City has the moniker The Gateway to Florida because it is adjacent to the intersection of Interstate 75 and Interstate 10.