| 100% | LAJOLLA | 7 | California town mentioned in "Surfin' U.S.A." (2 wds.) |
| 55% | ALLUDESTO | 9 | Mentions in a roundabout way: 2 wds. |
| 48% | RICHARDNIXON | 12 | Former U.S. president played by Anthony Hopkins in a 1995 biopic (2 wds.) |
| 46% | VIRGINRIVER | 11 | Romance series by Robyn Carr set in a California mountain town (2 wds.) |
| 46% | GRACEVALLEY | 11 | Romance trilogy by Robyn Carr set in a California mountain town (2 wds.) |
| 45% | LODI | 4 | California town in a CCR song |
| 44% | SEVENAM | 7 | Common wake-up time mentioned in Rebecca Black's "Friday": 2 wds. |
| 44% | MILEYCYRUS | 10 | "Party in the U.S.A." singer whose first TV series lead role was on Disney's "Hannah Montana": 2 wds. |
| 44% | MARTHAGRAHAM | 12 | Dancer and choreographer honored with a U.S. postage stamp in 2004 (2 wds.) |
| 44% | ISADORADUNCAN | 13 | Dancer and choreographer honored with a U.S. postage stamp in 2012 (2 wds.) |
| 43% | THEBEACHBOYS | 12 | "Good Vibrations" group who had a hit in 1963 with "Surfin' U.S.A.": 3 wds. |
| 43% | MAINST | 6 | Sign in the heart of many a small town's downtown (2 wds.) |
| 43% | ERAOF | 5 | ___ Good Feelings (1815-25 in U.S.A): 2 wds. |
| 43% | BILLCLINTON | 11 | U.S. president who was inaugurated in 1993 (2 wds.) |
| 42% | GEORGELUCAS | 11 | Director of the film mentioned in 16a: 2 wds. |
| 42% | SINEADOCONNOR | 13 | Singer whose "Nothing Compares 2 U" was a #1 song for four weeks in 1990 (2 wds.) |
| 42% | GLORYDAYS | 9 | The fifth single from Springsteen's album mentioned in 17a, about a man recollecting good times: 2 wds. |
| 41% | TIGERWOODS | 10 | Golfer who won the 2008 U.S. Open with a double fracture in his tibia: 2 wds. |
| 41% | LENAHORNE | 9 | Grammy-winning singer honored with a Black Heritage U.S. postage stamp in 2018 (2 wds.) |
| 41% | WILLACATHER | 11 | "My Ántonia" novelist who was honored on a U.S. postage stamp in 1973 (2 wds.) |
| 41% | ANYOF | 5 | "Do we have ___ the ingredients mentioned in the cookbook?": 2 wds. |
| 41% | COLDWAR | 7 | U.S./USSR conflict featured in many spy novels (2 wds.) |
| 41% | KEVINPOWERS | 11 | U.S. Army veteran who wrote the war novels "The Yellow Birds" and "A Shout in the Ruins" (2 wds.) |
| 41% | STILETTOS | 9 | Footwear mentioned in "Party in the U.S.A." |
| 41% | RONALDREAGAN | 12 | U.S. president who was the first born in Illinois, the first to have been divorced, and the first to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court (2 wds.) |
| 41% | RICHARDNIXON | 12 | Former U.S. president who wrote "In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat, and Renewal" (2 wds.) |
| 40% | STONEAGE | 8 | Historic period mentioned in the theme song to "The Flintstones": 2 wds. |
| 40% | ICECUBE | 7 | It's a "rock" in "on the rocks": 2 wds. |
| 40% | SANJOSE | 7 | California city located in Silicon Valley: 2 wds. |
| 40% | WASHINGTONDC | 12 | The capital of the U.S.A: 2 wds. |