Do you refer to state roads as "Route" or "Highway"? (home, live)

[bus man]

I don't know if it's a regional thing or if it varies by state, but I've heard it go either way. Where I grew up (first in Virginia and then in Florida) and where I've lived as an adult (Pennsylvania and now Maryland), numbered state roads are called "Route xxx." Thus, some of the roads through my home county would be Route 100 and Route 32 and Route 175. (U.S. highways can be either "Route" or "U.S." I never hear interstates prefaced by "Route.")

I know that in Hawaii, they say "Highway." And I've heard it in some of the Southern states as well. So what do you say where you live?

[flyonpa]

A Hiway that is 4lanes+ I would say take the HiWay, But would probobly say, Take the hiway State XX.

US roads if its a major ones = Route.

Interstates are Interstates or Ixx

[nep321]

I am native to the Hartford, CT area.

We call a numbered route a "route."

A "highway" is ONLY used to describe roads that are a limited access highway with exits and on-ramps, such as interstates.

Even if there's a road that is a divided highway with two or more lanes each way, but no exits, we still call it a "route" or just the name of the road, such as "Berlin Turnpike." But it's not a "highway."

But divided highways like you see in the south and Midwest are extremely rare in New England.

[kehkou]

I call them highways (SH), sometimes state route. Officially, they are called New Mexico State Roads (SR).

Also Interstates are controlled-access highways, not "limited-access". Limited-access highways still have at-grade intersections.

[lrfox]

Almost always "Route." For Interstates, I usually just use the route number to describe it.

For example,

If you're heading from Boston to Revere on U.S. 1, I'd tell you to "take Route 1." If you're heading from Boston to Manchester New Hampshire on I-93, I'd tell you to "Take 93." I don't know that I've ever said anything along the lines of "Take Highway 1 or Highway 93..." in this region. The exception in this region is I-90. In Massachusetts that's, "The Pike."

[Nodpete]

Here in IL. we call them "In need of repair" !

[RocketSci]

New York - Route (Route 33, Route 5, etc)
Texas - Highway (Highway 3) or generally just the number (288, 59, etc) when you get too many syllables

Texas also has a lower tier "Farm to Market Road" system, generally called out as FM (FM 1960, FM 2351, etc) or just by their number (1960, etc)

[lammius]

New Jersey - route for everything.

U.S. Route 1 = "Route 1"
N.J. Route 17 = "Route 17"
Interstate 80 = "Route 80"

The only exception is probably county routes, which tend to go by their street names. For instance, Hudson County Route 501 is J.F. Kennedy Boulevard. It's most commonly referred to as "Kennedy Blvd." or "the Blvd" and not by its county route number.

Edit:
There are other exceptions, namely expressways that have names that pre-date the Interstate Highway Act, such as the NJ Turnpike (nobody calls it "Route 95") and the Garden State Parkway (nobody calls it "Route 444").

[Dawn.Davenport]

I grew up in Arizona.

I usually refer to Interstates as I-10, I-94, I-95, etc. I feel like people in the Midwest and the Northeast drop the I. I remember people in Minnesota referring to I-94 as 94. Likewise, here in Baltimore, I feel, people call I-95 95. People in California replace the I with the definitive article: The 10.

For US Highways and State Routes, like Californians, I use the definitive article: The 101, The 60, etc. I'm not sure if other Arizonans or Westerners make this distinction.

I use the term freeway if there is no charge to drive on a road. I think it's the same in Minnesota and California. I think it's different in Chicago and on the East Coast. I use the term tollway to refer to a road that is not free. I don't use the terms expressway, highway, parkway, or thruway.

[Southern man]

Highways are paved roads. Everything else is a dirt road.