• by Ray Schultz , July 4, 2022

With demand for data of all types growing, The Washington Post has debuted a column called The Department of Data that will explore hidden data sets.  

“Each Friday, we’ll dig into overlooked and underappreciated data sets in search of hard truths and keen insights that will help make you smarter, better-looking and more fun at parties,” writes business columnist Arthur Van Dam, who will author the weekly column. 

Van Dam is known for analysis of economic trends, and of such topics as, “which birds are the biggest jerks at the feeder?"

He has “long helped set the agenda for our economics coverage,” states Business Editor Lori Montgomery. “With this column, he's going to spend more time on his passion for addressing quirkier questions.” 

The first column focused on Maryland’s Prince George’s County, said to be the richest majority-Black county in the U.S. 

Van Dam writes that Charles County is now outpacing it in median income, pulling in $104,000, versus $86,000 in Prince George’s, and indicators suggest it became majority-Black during the Pandemic.