Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 at the 2020 census. The two-county Erie Metropolitan Area had a population of 270,876 in 2020. Erie is about 80 mi from Buffalo, 90 mi from Cleveland, and 120 mi from Pittsburgh.