| 100% | HISS | 4 | Alger ___, U.S. State Department official accused of spying in 1948 and convicted of perjury in 1950 |
| 30% | SDAK | 4 | Only U.S. state in which the name of the state and its capital share no letters: Abbr. |
| 27% | PAWNEE | 6 | Parks and Recreation Department of ___, workplace where a town's public officials get into hijinks in the sitcom "Parks and Recreation" |
| 27% | REALGAR | 7 | Rare orange-red mineral that occurs in Romania and the US state of Utah |
| 27% | AVOCADO | 7 | Official state fruit of California, often used in guacamole and a favorite in salads and on toast |
| 26% | TEXAS | 5 | Second-largest US state in terms of both size and population |
| 26% | RAINIER | 7 | Mount —, volcano and highest mountain in the state of Washington, US |
| 26% | COMMONWEALTH | 12 | Formal title of the states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia in the US |
| 26% | ESSEX | 5 | County name in England and five U.S. states |
| 26% | POWELL | 6 | U.S. secretary of state raised in the Bronx |
| 26% | TROUT | 5 | California Golden ___, official state freshwater fish of California, known for its presence in rivers and favored by anglers |
| 25% | CITY | 4 | Word in the names of four U.S. state capitals |
| 25% | PESO | 4 | Official currency of The Dominican Republic and also some countries in South America |
| 25% | CITY | 4 | Last word in the names of four U.S. state capitals |
| 25% | STEPHENCOLBERT | 14 | Author of a satirical book whose title consists of five U.S. state abbreviations (and is hidden in this puzzle) |
| 25% | GRANT | 5 | Ulysses S. ___, 18th President of the U.S.A. and the second to sport a beard in office |
| 25% | HHS | 3 | U.S. department with the motto "Improving the health, safety and well-being of America": Abbr. |
| 25% | KOHLS | 5 | Largest U.S. department store chain that has stores in 49 U.S. states |
| 25% | MEXICO | 6 | US state with the name of country in it, New __ |
| 24% | UFOS | 4 | In 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense established a group to examine them (abbr.) |
| 24% | FUCHS | 5 | Klaus —, physicist convicted in 1950 of passing information to the Soviet Union about the development of the atomic bomb in the US |
| 24% | KLAUS | 5 | & 1A Physicist convicted in 1950 of passing information to the Soviet Union about the development of the atomic bomb in the US |
| 24% | DEANRUSK | 8 | U.S. secretary of state tied for the second-longest time in office |
| 24% | BOONE | 5 | Name of eight counties in the central and eastern U.S. |
| 24% | TRUMAN | 6 | Harry S. ___, 33rd President of the U.S.A. and the last (so far) to sport a beard in office |
| 24% | ANDL | 4 | Follower of P in accounting and S in finance |
| 24% | EMI | 3 | Org. that supports Homeland Security and FEMA by improving competency of officials involved in US disaster response (abbr.) |
| 24% | EAST | 4 | Only cardinal direction that’s not in the name of a U.S. state |
| 24% | NSA | 3 | Body in charge of security and surveillance in the U.S.: Abbr. |
| 24% | SMITH | 5 | Most common surname in the U.S. (ahead of Johnson and Williams) |