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Renting an Apartment in North Wales
North Wales is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States.
It is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is one of the three historic
population centers that make up the North Penn Valley. The population was 3,342
at the 2000 census.
Like many small boroughs in Pennsylvania, North Wales is at "build out," meaning
that its boundaries have not kept up with population growth. Summarily, many
businesses and residences with North Wales addresses are located in outlying
townships that were never annexed by the borough. North Wales is in the North
Penn School District.
Location
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of
1.5 km˛ (0.6 mi˛), all land.
History
As its name suggests, North Wales was settled by Welsh immigrants who named it
after North Wales in the UK. (For more on Welsh settlements in colonial
Pennsylvania, see "Welsh Tract.") It began as a pastoral village in agricultural
Gwynedd Township.
Its rural character was abruptly disrupted by the building of the North
Pennsylvania Railroad starting in 1852. Service from Bethlehem to Philadelphia
through North Wales began in 1857. The town quickly grew around the railroad
station, with hotels and restaurants lining Walnut Street and Main Street within
walking distance. North Wales was incorporated as a borough in 1869, taking land
from today's Upper Gwynedd Township, then the northern portion of Gwynedd
Township.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, much of North Wales borough's
housing stock was built. Most houses in the borough remain today rowhouses,
twins, and modest detached homes.
Between 1826 and 1900, Lehigh Valley Transit operated its Chestnut Hill Branch
trolley line, which connected North Wales to surrounding towns through service
to either Philadelphia or Norristown. The trolley ran down Main Street through
the borough, but detoured onto Pennsylvania Avenue to enable it to cross the
North Penn Railroad tracks rather than being stopped at the grade-crossing while
the train passed.
Although trolley service ended and trackage has been removed, rail service to
North Wales is currently served by SEPTA. Many North Wales residents commute to
Center City, Philadelphia by the R5 train.
North Wales' Main Street, although a shadow of its former glory, still serves
the community by providing basic services such as pizza parlors (Most notably
the local favorite Tony's Pizza and a Papa John's), a bank, a pharmacy, a
running specialty store, doctors' offices, cafes, a dry cleaner, a furniture
restoration store, and other commercial shops.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 3,342 people, 1,299 households, and 869
families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,263.8/km˛
(5,848.7/mi˛). There were 1,330 housing units at an average density of 900.9/km˛
(2,327.6/mi˛). The racial makeup of the borough was 90.31% White, 4.82% African
American, 0.06% Native American, 2.09% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 0.78% from
other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race
were 1.50% of the population.
There were 1,299 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 27.8% of all
households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average
family size was 3.18.
In the borough the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18,
7.4% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were
65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females
there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9
males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $54,605, and the median
income for a family was $63,235. Males had a median income of $41,265 versus
$33,045 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,590. About
3.2% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
City Government
North Wales has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a nine-member
borough council. The mayor is Doug Ross.
The borough is part of the Thirteenth Congressional District (represented by
Rep. Allyson Schwartz), the 61st State House District (represen ted by Rep. Kate
Harper) and the 12th State Senate District (represented by Sen. Stewart
Greenleaf).