Each quarter, the Nevada Secretary of State releases a quarterly business report.  The report includes, among other things, data concerning the number of new entity filings with that office.  The report for the first quarter of 2012 discloses that the overall number of new entity filings is nearly the same as in the first quarter of 2011.  However, the number of new entity filings in the first quarter of this year (15,449) was about 26% greater than the number of filings in the preceding quarter (12,296).  Because new entity filings are considered a leading indicator, these data may be the harbinger of better economic news. 

Interestingly, about two-thirds of the new entity filings are for limited liability companies, an entity that did not exist in the U.S. until 1977 when Wyoming enacted the first LLC Act.  Nevada put an LLC law on its books four years later.  California's Beverly-Killea Act came three years later in 1994.

Nevada continues to fight for a share of the corporate charter market and it is a net importer of corporate charters for publicly traded companies (meaning that corporations with their principal offices in other states choose to incorporate in Nevada).  This is in stark contrast to California which is a net exporter of charters.  

Source:  Nevada Secretary of State