Bryn Mawr Apartments and Rentals

Bryn Mawr, a census-designated place in Pennsylvania's Lower Merion Township, is located on the Main Line - a string of towns that sprang up along the railroad line linking Philadelphia to Lancaster. Bryn Mawr is approximately half an hour away from Philadelphia. Its unusual name means "great hill" in Welsh and is pronounced with a silent "W."

Those looking for Bryn Mawr apartments for rent will no doubt be charmed by the area's brick and stone buildings, as well as its greenery.

Bryn Mawr, like many other Pennsylvania municipalities, was part of a land charter given to the Commonwealth's founder, William Penn, by King Charles II of Britain in 1681. Two years later, a farmer named Rowland Ellis purchased 800 acres of the land from Penn, and named it "Bryn Mawr" after a farm he owned in Wales. The farm was later renamed "Harriton" by its next owner, Maryland tobacco planter Richard Harrison, while the neighboring tract of land belonging to Ellis' uncle, John Humphrey, was named "Humphreyville."

However, the Welsh name returned years later in 1869, when the secretary of the Pennsylvania Railroad was tasked with choosing new names for the stations along the Main Line railroad, which had been constructed between Philadelphia and Lancaster in 1832. He opted for Bryn Mawr over Humphreyville, and the area has been referred to as such ever since.

Today, the CDP itself has a population of 3,510 citizens, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That said, the Bryn Mawr ZIP code covers a larger geographic area that includes other parts of Lower Merion Township, as well as portions of the neighboring Radnor and Haverford Townships. This region has a total population of 21,103 residents.

Bryn Mawr is most famous for Bryn Mawr College, a women's liberal arts college with approximately 1,300 undergraduate students. The institution makes up one-third of the Tri-College Consortium, alongside Haverford College (which used to be Bryn Mawr's male-only counterpart but now accepts students of both genders) and Swarthmore College. Actress Katharine Hepburn is probably the school's most famous alumnus, although Drew Gilpin Faust, the first woman president of Harvard University, is another well-known graduate. In addition to Haverford and Swarthmore, Villanova University, located in the nearby Radnor Township, is another of the area's prestigious educational institutions.

The leading industries in Bryn Mawr are educational, health and social services. Bryn Mawr Hospital is one of the area's biggest employers, along with Bryn Mawr College.

Residents who live in the CDP are educated at one of the 10 schools in the Lower Merion School District, one of the wealthiest in Pennsylvania. Like Bryn Mawr College, the Baldwin School is for female students only, while St. Aloysius Academy is just for boys.

The cost of living in Bryn Mawr, as determined by City-Data.com's cost of living index, was slightly above average as of March 2012 (108.6, compared to the national average of 100). The median gross rent for the area was $1,148, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Because Bryn Mawr is so small, there aren't too many attractions in the CDP itself, but the Bryn Mawr Film Institute is a notable exception. The nonprofit community theater was founded in 2002 and hosts films, classes and special events. The institute has more than 6,000 members, making it one of the largest organizations of its kind in the country.

Those with a fondness for shopping will be pleased to know that the King of Prussia Mall, one of the largest in the country, is only approximately 10 miles away from Bryn Mawr. It features more than 400 retailers and 40 restaurants, and is easily accessible from Route 202, I-76 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

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