Escambia County, Alabama

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Escambia County, Alabama
Map
Location in the state of Alabama
Alabama's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	December 10, 1868
Seat	Brewton
Largest city	Atmore
Area - Total - Land - Water	953 sq mi (2,468 km²) 947 sq mi (2,453 km²) 6 sq mi (16 km²), (0.58%)
Population - (2000) - Density	38,440 40/sq mi (15/km²)

Escambia County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is said to be from the name of a river in an American Indian language (see Escambia County, Florida for another possible origin). As of 2000, the population was 38,440. Its county seat is Brewton.

1 History
2 Geography
- 2.1 Major highways
- 2.2 Adjacent counties
3 Demographics
4 Cities and towns
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Escambia County was established on December 10, 1868.
The county was declared a disaster area in September 1979 due to damage from Hurricane Frederic, and again in September 2004 due to damage from Hurricane Ivan.
The name "Escambia" was given to the county from the river which the Creek Indians had named "Shambia", meaning "clear water".

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,468 km² (953 square miles). 947 square miles (2,454 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (14 km²) of it (0.58%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Conecuh County (north)
Covington County (east)
Okaloosa County, Florida (southeast)
Santa Rosa County, Florida (south)
Escambia County, Florida (southwest) (this is one of the very few instances in the United States where two counties with the same name, but located in adjoining states, share a common border)
Baldwin County (west)
Monroe County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 38,440 people, 14,297 households, and 10,093 families residing in the county. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 16,544 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.40% White, 30.79% Black or African American, 3.01% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 0.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,297 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.70% were married couples living together, 15.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 102.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,319, and the median income for a family was $36,086. Males had a median income of $30,632 versus $18,091 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,396. About 15.20% of families and 20.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.70% of those under age 18 and 17.80% of those age 65 or over.