Pontiac is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly 26 miles northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and is variously described as a satellite city or suburb of Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 61,606. Founded in 1818, Pontiac was the second European-American organized settlement in Michigan near Detroit, after Dearborn.