Escambia County, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Escambia County
U.S. county
Escambia County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	July 21, 1821
Named for	Escambia River
Seat	Pensacola
Largest city	Pensacola
Area
• Total	875 sq mi (2,270 km2)
• Land	656 sq mi (1,700 km2)
• Water	218 sq mi (560 km2)  25.0%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	321,905
• Estimate  (2023)	326,928
• Density	367.89/sq mi (142.04/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	http://myescambia.com

Escambia County is the westernmost and oldest county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 321,905. The county seat and largest city is Pensacola. Escambia County is included within the Pensacola Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county population has steadily increased as the City of Pensacola and its surrounding bedroom communities continue to grow with residential and commercial development. The county is part of the Northwest Florida region of the state.

History

The area had been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples of varying cultures. Historic American Indian tribes at the time of European-American settlement were the Pensacola and Muscogee, known among the English as the Creek.

Escambia County had been part of Spanish colonial settlement before the United States acquired it in 1818. The county was organized by European-Americans on July 21, 1821; it was named for the Escambia River. The name "Escambia" may have been derived from the Creek name Shambia, meaning "clear water", or the Choctaw word for "cane-brake" or "reed-brake". The Choctaw were another major tribe in the Southeast.

Created on the same date, Escambia and St. Johns Counties were Florida's two original counties, covering the entire territory within modern state boundaries. The Suwannee River was the border between them, following a winding path from the northern border of the state to the Gulf of Mexico. Essentially, the Escambia county government had jurisdiction over the "panhandle" and "big bend" areas, and St. Johns over the remainder of the entire state.

As population increased in the frontier territory, 21 counties were later organized from Escambia county directly or indirectly. They include Jackson (1821), Gadsden (created from Jackson)(1823), Leon (1824), Walton (1824), Washington (created from Jackson and Walton)(1825), Hamilton (1827), Jefferson (1827), Madison (created from Jefferson) (1827), Franklin (1832), Calhoun (1838), Santa Rosa (1842), Wakulla (created from Leon) (1843), Holmes (created from Jackson and Walton) (1848), Liberty (created from Gadsden) (1855), Lafayette and Taylor (created from Madison) (1856), Bay (created from Washington) (1913), Okaloosa (created from Santa Rosa and Walton) (1915), Dixie (created from Lafayette) (1921), and Gulf (created from Calhoun) (1925). The number of counties in Florida since 1925 has been stable at 67.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 875 square miles (2,270 km²), of which 656 square miles (1,700 km²) is land and 218 square miles (560 km²) (25.0%) is water.

The county jurisdiction includes the island of Santa Rosa south of Pensacola; it is not part of Santa Rosa County proper. Escambia County is part of the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Adjacent counties

• Escambia County, Alabama — north
• Santa Rosa County, Florida — east
• Baldwin County, Alabama — west

Escambia County, Florida, and Escambia County, Alabama, are two of 22 counties or parishes in the United States with the same name to border each other across state lines.

National protected areas

• Gulf Islands National Seashore (part)

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 321,905 people, 122,169 households, and 74,083 families residing in the county.

2010 Census

At the 2010 census there were 297,619 people, 116,238 households, and 74,040 families living in the county. The population density was 449 inhabitants per square mile (173/km²). There were 136,703 housing units at an average density of 206 per square mile (80/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.9% White, 22.9% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. 4.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 116,238 households 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 28.9% of households were one person and 10.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.96.

The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males.

The median household income was $43,707 and the median family income was $54,543. Males had a median income of $38,878 versus $30,868 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,773. About 12.7% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.4% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public primary and secondary education schools in Pensacola are administered by the Escambia County School District, the county's only school district.

The University of West Florida, Pensacola State College, and Pensacola Christian College are in Escambia County.

Media

Newspapers

The largest daily print newspaper in the area is the Pensacola News Journal. There is also a weekly print newspaper, The Independent News.

Television

One major network broadcasts from Pensacola, ABC affiliate WEAR. Several major networks are broadcast from nearby Mobile, such as CBS affiliate WKRG, NBC affiliate WPMI-TV, and Fox affiliate WALA. The following is a list of broadcast television stations in the Mobile, Alabama – Pensacola – Fort Walton Beach, Florida market. Cox Communications provides cable television service in the county's urbanized areas, and television advertising through its subsidiary, Cox Media. Spectrum holds the cable television franchise for the county's mainland rural areas, while Mediacom serves the Pensacola Beach community on Santa Rosa Island.

Radio

Radio stations in the Pensacola / Mobile market:

Transportation

Airports

• Coastal Airport
• Ferguson Airport
• Pensacola International Airport

Transit

Escambia County is served by buses run by Escambia County Area Transit.

Major highways

• I-10 / SR 8
• I-110
• US 29 / SR 95
• US 90
• US 98
• 
  BUS US 98
• State Road 4
• State Road 97
• State Road 173
• State Road 289
• State Road 291
• State Road 292
• State Road 295
• State Road 296

Railroads

Pensacola was a scheduled stop on the route of Amtrak's Los Angeles-Orlando Sunset Limited from 1993 to 2005, when damage to railroad bridges and tracks caused by Hurricane Katrina resulted in cancellation of the route east of New Orleans. Escambia County has had no passenger train service since then.

Before the creation of Amtrak in 1971, Pensacola was served by the New Orleans-Jacksonville Gulf Wind, operated jointly by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (predecessors of CSX).

The following freight railroads serve Escambia County:

• CSX from Flomaton, Alabama, to Pensacola
• Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, which acquired most of the CSX main line from Pensacola to Jacksonville on June 1, 2019
• Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway from Amory, Mississippi, to Pensacola (predecessor: the Frisco Railway).

Library

Escambia County is served by the West Florida Regional Library System.

Communities

Juan Sebastian de Elcano, a Spanish tall ship, initiates a 21-gun salute in honor of the city of Pensacola's 450th anniversary in 2009.

City

• Pensacola

Town

• Century

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

• Muscogee
• Pine Barren

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Escambia (Florida) para niños