207,653 people (2024 Census estimate, +9.9% since 2020)
1,012 square miles of land · 205 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
15 active community water systems list Santa Rosa County in the area they serve, reporting 220,672 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| PACE WATER SYSTEM, INC. groundwater · private · FL1570671 | 49,328 served |
| HOLLEY-NAVARRE WATER SYSTEM groundwater · public/private · FL1570349 | 47,793 served |
| MILTON, CITY OF WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · FL1570146 | 21,241 served |
| MIDWAY WATER SYSTEM, INC. groundwater · local government · FL1570470 | 21,196 served |
| GULF BREEZE REGIONAL WATER SYSTEM buys groundwater · local government · FL1570316 | 17,596 served |
| EAST MILTON WATER SYSTEM groundwater · public/private · FL1570232 | 17,292 served |
| POINT BAKER WATER SYSTEM, INC. groundwater · private · FL1570540 | 11,318 served |
| BAGDAD-GARCON POINT WATER SYSTEM groundwater · public/private · FL1570042 | 10,896 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 640 people were held in Santa Rosa County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 616.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Santa Rosa County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $361.7 million — $309.7 million to run schools, about $10,065 per student, plus $38.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $126.4 million local (mostly property tax), $179.3 million state, $50.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $62.9 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Santa Rosa County about $101.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
194 bridges in Santa Rosa County: 53 in good condition, 127 fair, and 14 poor (7.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US90 SR10 over White River · built 1970 | 20,750 vehicles a day |
| Ward Basin Road over Unnamed Branch · built 1999 | 5,100 vehicles a day |
| Ward Basin Rd CR89 over Unnamed Bayou · built 1999 | 4,800 vehicles a day |
| Gondolier Blvd over Inlet · built 1960 | 1,000 vehicles a day |
| CR 197 over Moore Creek · built 1900 | 800 vehicles a day |
| CR 164 over Coldwater Creek · built 1964 | 500 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $23.1 million of work in Santa Rosa County in fiscal 2025, about $123 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Vote-by-mail request due by 5 pm: 2026-10-22. Early voting — the statewide minimum: 2026-10-24 to 2026-10-31. Election Day — and mail ballots must arrive: 2026-11-03.
Source: Florida Division of Elections — election dates · WPTV, 2026 deadlines · Florida Division of Elections — early voting
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Santa Rosa County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Santa Rosa County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Florida: the state government and every county in Florida.
Nearby counties: Escambia County (21 mi) · Okaloosa County (26 mi) · Escambia County, AL (32 mi) · Baldwin County, AL (43 mi) · Walton County (51 mi) · Covington County, AL (52 mi).