Milton is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated in 1844 and is home to Naval Air Station Whiting Field. The population was 7,045 at the 2000 census. In 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 8,044. The population estimate for 2013 was 9,323. It is the county seat of Santa Rosa County. Milton was known by various names during its development. Most notable were "Hell-Town" "Jernigan's Landing", "Scratch Ankle", "Hard Scrabble", and later Milton and/or because of the local lumber mill industry or Mill Town, which was shortened to Milton.Milton is part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area.