Santa Rosa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Its county seat is Milton and it was 84th fastest growing county in the US between 2000 and 2005. Santa Rosa County was created in 1842 and was named for Rosa de Viterbo, Roman Catholic saint. Santa Rosa County is part of the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent MSA. Santa Rosa County has a total area of approximately 1,174 square miles of which 87% is land and 13% water. As of the 2000 census, there were 117,743 people, 43,793 households, and 33,326 families residing in Santa Rosa County, FL.