The Ocean State is the smallest state by area.  But I was surprised to learn Rhode Island is the second most densely populated state.  New Jersey is 2nd.   New York is 7th.   A friend recently spoke very highly of Rhode Island as a potential place to live knowing I’d prefer fewer people to more so I hadn’t expected it to be more densely populated than where I now live…. Long Island.

I’m taking a detour to take a closer look at the numbers.

Density  (population/square mile)

New Jersey                       1,218

Rhode Island                    1,021

New York                          420

Ever drive around NYC or Long Island or Northern New Jersey?  Rhode Island?  If you have, then you know the experiences in NY and NJ are nothing like a Rhode Island ride and these numbers probably don’t reflect your experience.  And if you’ve been to upstate NY, you know it’s possible to not see a car or person for such a long time you’d think it’s the apocalypse.

Mark Twain said, “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”  So, I can’t leave these numbers hanging there because they give a false impression.

Here’s a much closer look.

Density (population/square mile)

Long Island                       5,402

New York City                  27,000

Albany County (NY)        581        location of the state capital, Albany

Tompkins County (NY)   214        location of Cornell University

Providence County (RI)  1,001    location of the state capitol, Providence

Washington County (RI) 170        borders CT and its eastern border is the Long Island Sound

Can’t take facts and figures (and fake news) at face value.  Now back to the bridges.

Good news!  None of any consequence.  Just a few short ones.  Blink and I missed them.

Onward to one of my favorite states.  Massachusetts.