Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population is 184,313. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities within Santa Rosa County are Navarre, Pace, and Gulf Breeze. Navarre is the most populated community with a population of approximately 45,000 residents.
Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is a suburb of Pensacola, and is in the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population estimate was 6,900 in 2020. Gulf Breeze is located just north of Pensacola Beach, and south of Pensacola. Gulf Breeze is on the Fairpoint Peninsula, and is bordered by Navarre to the east. It is an affluent bedroom community, and has the highest household income in metropolitan Pensacola.
Milton is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is the county seat of Santa Rosa County, and is located in the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. Milton is located in the geographic center of Santa Rosa County, it is bordered by Pace to the west, and Navarre to the South. As of April 1, 2020, the population of Milton was 10,197.
Pace is a census-designated place in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. The population estimate was 34,235 in 2018. It is part of the Pensacola Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pace has experienced exponential growth, and has evolved from a small, rural community into a thriving suburb of Pensacola. Pace has experienced a large increase of population. From 2000 to 2010, the Pace CDP population growth percentage was 171.1%. It is the second largest community in Santa Rosa County, in terms of population. This puts it only behind Navarre, which has a estimated population of 44,876.
The Florida Panhandle is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a strip of land roughly 200 miles (320 km) long and 50 to 100 miles wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is arbitrarily defined. In terms of population, major communities include Tallahassee, Pensacola, and Navarre.
Navarre Beach Marine Park is a beach park run by the county commission of Santa Rosa County, located on Santa Rosa Island between Eglin Air Force Base property and the residential and commercial area of Navarre Beach. The address is 8704 Gulf Boulevard, Navarre, FL 32566.
The West Florida Public Library System is an organization of libraries that serve the Pensacola, Florida area with branch libraries in Escambia County, Florida.
Navarre is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Santa Rosa County in the northwest Florida Panhandle. It is a major bedroom community for mostly U.S. military personnel, federal civil servants, local population, retirees and defense contractors. Due to Navarre Beach and the four miles of beach front on the Gulf of Mexico thereof, as well as several miles of beaches within the Navarre Beach Marine Park and the Gulf Islands National Seashore, it has a small, but rapidly growing community of nature enthusiasts and tourists. Navarre has grown from being a small town of around 1,500 in 1970 to a town with a population estimated at 44,876 as of 2019.
Gulf Breeze High School is a public secondary school located at 675 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze, Florida, United States. It is one of eleven high schools of the Santa Rosa County School District and the only high school in the city of Gulf Breeze.
Santa Rosa County District Schools (SRCDS), also known as Santa Rosa County School District is the organization responsible for the administration of public schools in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The district currently administers 15 elementary schools, seven middle schools, and six high schools, as well as a number of specialized centers.
Santa Rosa Sound is a sound connecting Pensacola Bay and Choctawhatchee Bay in Florida. The northern shore consists of the Fairpoint Peninsula and portions of the mainland in Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County. It is bounded to the south by Santa Rosa Island, separating it from the Gulf of Mexico.
The Fairpoint Peninsula is located in northwest Florida between Santa Rosa Sound and Pensacola Bay.
The Pensacola metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on Pensacola, Florida. It is also known as the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) used for statistical purposes by the United States Census Bureau and other agencies. The Pensacola Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area was first defined after the 1960 United States Census, with Pensacola as the principal city, and included Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Ferry Pass and Brent, which are unincorporated census-designated places in Escambia County, were added as principal cities after the 2000 Census. The population of the MSA in the 2010 census was 448,991. The estimated population of the MSA was 502,629 in 2019.
State Road 399 is a state road in Santa Rosa County, Florida. Although it only extends 0.32 miles (0.51 km) from U.S. Route 98 (US 98) to the Bob Sikes Bridge, County Road 399 continues over the bridge, along Santa Rosa Island, and back to US 98 via the Navarre Bridge. Other segments of CR 399 also exist on the mainland.
State Road 281, known locally as Avalon Boulevard, is a north–south highway in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It runs from U.S. Highway 98 east of Gulf Breeze north to U.S. Highway 90 just west of Milton. The portion of the road south of Interstate 10 is signed "TOLL 281" to reflect the inclusion of the Garcon Point Bridge, which has a $3.75 per crossing toll.
Midway is an unincorporated community in southern Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area is located between the communities of Gulf Breeze and Navarre, on the Fairpoint Peninsula. Midway is often considered to be part of one, if not both, of these communities. Its actual boundaries vary from source to source, but unofficially include most areas from the intersection of Soundside Drive with U.S. Highway 98, eastward until Highway 98 becomes Navarre Parkway.
Woodlawn Beach is a census-designated place on Santa Rosa Sound in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States surrounded by the older Midway CDP. It lies south of U.S. Highway 98 between Nantahala Beach Road and Conover Cove, and includes the Woodlawn Beach Middle School, Woodlawn Beach Boat Ramp, and Gulf Breeze Zoo. Citizens of Woodlawn Beach often consider themselves to be part of the larger communities of Navarre or Gulf Breeze.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office (SRSO) is the primary law enforcement agency of Santa Rosa County, Florida. Both the cities of Gulf Breeze and Milton operates their own LEOs ; however, the sheriff's office operates the majority of law enforcement operations within Milton. SRSO is headed by a sheriff, who serves a four-year term and is elected in a partisan primary election.
Florida's 3rd House District elects one member of the Florida House of Representatives. The district is represented by Jayer Williamson. This district is located in the Florida Panhandle, and encompasses part of the Emerald Coast, as well as parts of the Pensacola metropolitan area and the Crestview metropolitan area. The district covers the most of Santa Rosa County and the top half of Okaloosa County. The largest city in the district is Navarre. As of the 2010 Census, the district's population is 158,797.
The Navarre Library is the community library of Navarre, Florida. The library is part of the Santa Rosa County Library System based out of Milton, Florida.
