Escambia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Its county seat is Pensacola. It is the westernmost county in Florida. Escambia County was created in 1821 and named for the Escambia River, in a Spanish word for "barter" or "exchange. Escambia County is part of the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent MSA. Escambia County has a total area of approximately 876 square miles of which 76% is land and 24% water. As of the 2000 census, there were 294,410 people, 111,049 households, and 74,180 families residing in Escambia County, FL.