Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the 20th fastest-growing county in the US. Its county seat is Tavares and its largest city is Clermont. Lake County is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee MSA. Lake County was created in 1887 and was named for the numerous lakes in the area (1,400 lakes). Lake County has a total area of approximately 1,156 square miles of which 88% is land and 18% water. As of the 2000 census, there were 210,528 people, 88,413 households, and 62,507 families residing in Lake County, FL.