You'd also be surprised by what's considered rural. Vermont is the most rural state and it's right next to Massachusetts which is one of the least rural.
Rural isn't a simple calculation of area divided by population. It's based on the density of the population. People are not evenly distributed over Alaska or Wyoming, the majority live in urban settings around cities with the majority of the land in those states being uninhabited.
60% or more of the population in Alaska and Wyoming live in an urban setting. In Texas it's over 80% and in California it's over 90%.
New Jersey's population is 99% urban, does that mean they all chose to live in an urban setting or that the State is so crammed full of people that there's no place to live in isolation?
Looking at a map of New Jersey, it looks like if you managed to setup camp in the middle of a state park you might manage to be 5 miles from the nearest town.
