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State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state government in a country that is divided into states (including the United States, Australia, and Mexico):

A road numbered by the state, falling below numbered national highways (like U.S. Routes) in the hierarchy. Route numbers are used to aid navigation, and may or may not indicate ownership or maintenance.
A road maintained by the state, including nationally-numbered highways and un-numbered state highways

Depending on the state, state highway may be used for one meaning and state road or state route for the other. A third meaning, used in some countries such as New Zealand, uses the word "state" in its sense of a nation. By this meaning a state highway is a road maintained and numbered by the national government rather than local authorities.

Terminology

The usage of the terms "state highway", "state route", etc. may vary from country to country or even from state to state. In the United States, it is not uncommon for the general public to use different conventions even within a particular state. For example, in Washington, a state highway would be referred to as SR 500 (for State Route 500). In Oregon, it could be referred to as OR 18 (for Oregon Route 18), while in Idaho it would be SH-51, short for State Highway.

National usage

Australia

Australia's State Route System is a system of urban and inter-regional routes that are not covered by the National Route System, or the National Highway System. These routes are marked with a blue shield. Sometimes a state route may be formed when a former national route is decommissioned.

Italy

Italy's Strade Statali extend for some 12,000 km, overseen by the Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade (ANAS) founded in 1946, replacing the A.A.S.S. (Azienda Autonoma delle Strade Statali) of 1928.

India

In India, State Highway refers to the numbered highways which are laid and maintained by the State Government. Normally they are two way roads. They are not related to National Highways and are not involved with the NHAI or the Central Government in any way.

Mexico

Mexico's State Highway System is a system of urban and state routes constructed and maintained by each Mexican State. The main purpose of the state networks is to serve as a feeder system to the federal highway system. All states except the Federal District operate a road network. Each state marks these routes with a white shield containing the abbreviated name of the state plus the route number.

New Zealand State Highways are actually National Highways

New Zealand State Highways are actually National Highways, because New Zealand is not divided into "states" the way that Australia, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany ("Lander") etc., are, or into provinces the way that Canada and France are.

New Zealand's state highway system is a nationwide network of roads covering the North Island and the South Island. As of 2006, just under 100 roads have a "State Highway" designation. The New Zealand Transport Agency administers them. The speed limit for most State Highways is 100 km/h, with reductions when a State Highway passes through a densely-populated area.

The highways in New Zealand were originally designated on a two-tier system, National (SH 1–8) and Provincial, with national highways having a higher standard and funding priorities. Now all of them are State Highways, and the network consists of SH 1 running the length of both main islands, SH 2–5 and 10–58 in the North Island, and SH 6–8 and 60–99 in the South Island. National and Provincial highways are numbered approximately North to South. State Highway 1 runs the length of both islands.

United States

State highways are generally a mixture of primary and secondary roads, although some are freeways (for example, Route 128 in Massachusetts, Ronald Reagan/Cross County Highway (Route 126) in Cincinnati, or parts of Route 101 in New Hampshire). Each state has its own system for numbering and its own marker. The default marker is a white circle containing a black sans serif number (often inscribed in a black square or slightly rounded square), according to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). However each state is free to choose a different marker, and most states have. States may choose a design theme relevant to its state to distinguish state route markers from interstate, county, or municipal route markers. Several states simply use an outlined shape of its state; others, such as Pennsylvania, nicknamed the "Keystone State," uses the shape of a keystone for its state highway markers. Kansas uses the shape and color of a sunflower. The state of California has its route signs colored green in the shape of a miner's spade, as a reference to the gold rush of 1849. Yet other states, such as Illinois and Indiana, use neither the MUTCD default nor a theme design. Instead these states standardized white signs with a black-border, containing only the state name and route or highway number. Some states have a system of secondary highways in addition to state routes. A prominent example is Missouri, which designates its so-called supplemental routes with letters instead of numbers. Michigan uses a diamond shape instead of a circle. Texas also has a system of farm & ranch highways that are separate from the Texas State Highways.

Brazil

Brazil is another country that is divided into States and has state highways.

Canada

Canada is divided into provinces, but that is just another word for a "state", and Provincial Highways in Canada are equivalent to State Highways in Australia, the United States, Mexico, and other countries. Such can be seen by eyeball inspection, and it is also true that Provincial Highways are paid for by the provinces, just as State Highways in the above-mentioned countries are paid for by the states.

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 ===United States===
 [[Image:Circle sign 1.svg|100px|thumb|left|Default U.S. state highway marker]]
-State highways are generally a mixture of primary and secondary roads, although some are [[freeway]]s (for example, [[Massachusetts Route 128|Route 128]] in Massachusetts, Ronald Reagan/Cross County Highway ([[Ohio State Route 126|Route 126]]) in Cincinnati, or parts of [[New Hampshire Route 101|Route 101]] in New Hampshire).  Each state has its own system for numbering and its own marker.  The default marker is a [[Circular highway shield|white circle containing a black sans serif number]] (often inscribed in a black square or slightly rounded square), according to the ''[[Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices]]'' (MUTCD). However each state is free to choose a different marker, and most states have.  States may choose a design theme relevant to its state to distinguish state route markers from interstate, county, or municipal route markers. Several states simply use an outlined shape of its state; others, such as [[List of State Routes in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], nicknamed the "[[Keystone (architecture)|Keystone]] State," uses the shape of a keystone for its state highway markers. [[List of Kansas numbered highways|Kansas]] uses the shape and color of a [[sunflower]]. The state of [[California]] has its route signs colored green in the shape of a miner's spade, as a reference to the gold rush of 1849. Yet other states, such as [[List of Illinois Routes|Illinois]] and [[Indiana state highways|Indiana]], use neither the MUTCD default nor a theme design. Instead these states standardized white signs with a black-border, containing only the state name and route or highway number. Some states have a system of secondary highways in addition to state routes. A prominent example is [[Missouri]], which designates its so-called [[Missouri supplemental route|supplemental routes]] with letters instead of numbers. [[Texas]] also has a system of farm & ranch highways that are separate from the Texas State Highways.
+State highways are generally a mixture of primary and secondary roads, although some are [[freeway]]s (for example, [[Massachusetts Route 128|Route 128]] in Massachusetts, Ronald Reagan/Cross County Highway ([[Ohio State Route 126|Route 126]]) in Cincinnati, or parts of [[New Hampshire Route 101|Route 101]] in New Hampshire).  Each state has its own system for numbering and its own marker.  The default marker is a [[Circular highway shield|white circle containing a black sans serif number]] (often inscribed in a black square or slightly rounded square), according to the ''[[Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices]]'' (MUTCD). However each state is free to choose a different marker, and most states have.  States may choose a design theme relevant to its state to distinguish state route markers from interstate, county, or municipal route markers. Several states simply use an outlined shape of its state; others, such as [[List of State Routes in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], nicknamed the "[[Keystone (architecture)|Keystone]] State," uses the shape of a keystone for its state highway markers. [[List of Kansas numbered highways|Kansas]] uses the shape and color of a [[sunflower]]. The state of [[California]] has its route signs colored green in the shape of a miner's spade, as a reference to the gold rush of 1849. Yet other states, such as [[List of Illinois Routes|Illinois]] and [[Indiana state highways|Indiana]], use neither the MUTCD default nor a theme design. Instead these states standardized white signs with a black-border, containing only the state name and route or highway number. Some states have a system of secondary highways in addition to state routes. A prominent example is [[Missouri]], which designates its so-called [[Missouri supplemental route|supplemental routes]] with letters instead of numbers. [[Michigan]] uses a diamond shape instead of a circle. [[Texas]] also has a system of farm & ranch highways that are separate from the Texas State Highways.
 == Brazil ==

v t e Route designations in the United States
Multistate systems	Interstate U.S. Highway
Intrastate systems	Toll road State highway Secondary highway County highway Farm-to-market road
Special route types	Alternate route Business/city route Bypass route Connector route Divided route Emergency detour route Loop route Scenic route Spur route
Other	U.S. Bicycle Route Forest highway Indian route Territorial highway