North Carolina built a 7,000-acre research park to stop its own graduates from leaving
- Research Triangle Park: 385+ companies, 55,000+ jobs
- Charlotte is the #2 US banking center by assets, after New York
- Bank of America and Truist are both headquartered in Charlotte
- The Tar Heel State, 12th to ratify the Constitution (1789)
How North Carolina’s digital economy grew
North Carolina becomes the 12th state
Ratifying 16 months after "the great refusal" of 1788, once a Bill of Rights was guaranteed.
The park built to stop a brain drain
In the 1950s North Carolina ranked 47th of 48 states in per-capita income, and its best NC State, Duke and UNC graduates were leaving for jobs in the Northeast. Business and university leaders raised $1.425 million from North Carolinians to build a 7,000-acre research park between the three universities — a gamble that nearly stalled until IBM’s 1965 commitment let the park pay off its mortgage. Today RTP hosts more than 385 companies and 55,000-plus jobs, contributing an estimated $25.1 billion a year to the state economy.
Second only to Wall Street
Charlotte’s banking rise traces to a 1960 merger that became North Carolina National Bank; under Hugh McColl it grew from a one-state bank into a seven-state franchise, then became Bank of America in 1998 after acquiring California’s BankAmerica — keeping headquarters in Charlotte. Combined with Truist and Wells Fargo’s East Coast operations (inherited from Charlotte-based Wachovia), Charlotte is consistently ranked the second-largest US banking center by assets, after New York.
How North Carolina businesses buy websites
The research park and the banks get the headlines, but most of North Carolina’s businesses are the trades and shops serving Raleigh, Charlotte’s neighborhoods, and towns across the rest of the state.
Trades and home services
The Triangle and Charlotte are very different markets from the rest of the state — say plainly which one you serve.
Professional and B2B services
A research and finance 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 North Carolina’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.
North Carolina quiz · 1 of 3
Research Triangle Park was founded in 1959 mainly to solve what problem?
Why FastSites works here
A state that engineered two entire industries from scratch, deliberately, understands the value of building something with intent. A clear one-page site, live in days, at a published price, is that same discipline for a small business.