New Jersey is an excellent example of the difference between population and surface area. Despite being divided between two MSAs centred on neighbouring states,

New Jersey is an excellent example of the difference between population and surface area. Despite being divided between two MSAs centred on neighbouring states, it's still worth 14 electoral votes on its own, and there are 78 senators representing populations smaller than NJ's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population#State_and_territory_rankings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_metropolitan_area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_metropolitan_area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Valley (anyone know how well economic activity correlates with population or surface area in general? For prosperity you want the former, not necessarily either of the latter)