What is the difference between “most populous” and “most densely populated”?

Question

For example, according to my research, California is the “most populous” state in the country but New Jersey shows up as the “most densely populated” state. I thought the latter essentially meant “the state with the biggest population” (same as the former). How do they differ? Are they related in any way?

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Answer 1

It is a matter of units.
Population is a number of individuals, a count.
Density is the population divided by the area occupied.
So, California is the most populous, but has an important surface compared to New Jersey. Thus, the latter is the most densely populated.