New Jersey invented the R&D lab in 1876 — and never stopped
- Edison’s Menlo Park lab produced the light bulb and phonograph
- 13 of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies operate here
- Johnson & Johnson has been in New Brunswick since 1886
- The Garden State, 3rd to ratify the Constitution (1787)
How New Jersey’s digital economy grew
Edison opens his Menlo Park laboratory
Widely credited as the world’s first dedicated industrial research facility — a paid staff organized to produce "a minor invention every ten days."
The invention factory
Edison didn’t just invent devices at Menlo Park — he invented a method: a paid staff of machinists, glassblowers and chemists organized to produce results on a schedule. In six years the lab generated roughly 400 patents, including the phonograph in 1877 and a complete practical lighting system by the end of 1879. The model became the template for 20th-century corporate research labs everywhere. Henry Ford was such an admirer that in 1929 he had the original lab buildings dismantled and moved to his museum in Michigan — only the New Jersey site itself, now marked by a memorial tower, stayed behind.
Medicine chest of the world, verified current
The nickname dates to the 1950s, rooted in Johnson & Johnson’s 1886 founding and the wave of pharma manufacturing that followed. It still holds up: 13 of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies have a New Jersey presence, the state has more FDA-registered biopharma manufacturing facilities than any other, and roughly 40% of all FDA drug approvals in a recent year involved a company with a New Jersey footprint.
Johnson & Johnson
New Brunswick, since 1886. One of only two US companies with an AAA credit rating.
Merck & Co.
Rahway, since 1903 — a $3.5 billion headquarters completed on the original site in 2023.
Bristol Myers Squibb
Headquartered in Princeton.
How New Jersey businesses buy websites
The pharma giants get the headlines, but most of New Jersey’s businesses are the trades and shops serving the state’s dense mix of towns, from the shore to the suburbs outside New York and Philadelphia.
Trades and home services
New Jersey is small but crowded with distinct towns — say plainly which ones you actually serve.
Professional and B2B services
A research and pharma economy rewards clarity about exactly what you do.
Shops and hospitality
Clear hours and location, readable on a phone, win the quick local search.
How well do you know New Jersey’s digital economy?
3 quick questions. Get all 3 right and you win a 10% off discount code. Every answer is somewhere on this page.
New Jersey quiz · 1 of 3
What year did Edison establish his Menlo Park laboratory, later called the world’s first industrial research lab?
Why FastSites works here
A state that invented organized R&D understands the value of a clear, repeatable process. A one-page site, live in days, at a published price, is that same discipline for a small business’s website.