diff --git a/axum/CHANGELOG.md b/axum/CHANGELOG.md
index bbf51ef8a6..98b719c60d 100644
--- a/axum/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/axum/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 # Unreleased
 
 - **added:** Add `RouterService::{layer, route_layer}` ([#1550])
+- **added:** Add `Router::provide_state` and `MethodRouter::provide_state`
 
 [#1550]: https://github.com/tokio-rs/axum/pull/1550
 
diff --git a/axum/src/routing/method_routing.rs b/axum/src/routing/method_routing.rs
index 4b5d5b3fa5..0fc59c976e 100644
--- a/axum/src/routing/method_routing.rs
+++ b/axum/src/routing/method_routing.rs
@@ -749,6 +749,22 @@ where
         }
     }
 
+    /// Provide the state but keep the `MethodRouter`.
+    pub fn provide_state<S2>(self, state: S) -> MethodRouter<S2, B, E> {
+        MethodRouter {
+            get: self.get.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            head: self.head.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            delete: self.delete.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            options: self.options.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            patch: self.patch.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            post: self.post.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            put: self.put.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            trace: self.trace.provide_state(state.clone()),
+            allow_header: self.allow_header,
+            fallback: self.fallback.provide_state(state),
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Chain an additional service that will accept requests matching the given
     /// `MethodFilter`.
     ///
@@ -1177,6 +1193,16 @@ where
             Self::BoxedHandler(handler) => Some(handler.into_route(state.clone())),
         }
     }
+
+    fn provide_state<S2>(self, state: S) -> MethodEndpoint<S2, B, E> {
+        match self {
+            MethodEndpoint::None => MethodEndpoint::None,
+            MethodEndpoint::Route(route) => MethodEndpoint::Route(route),
+            MethodEndpoint::BoxedHandler(handler) => {
+                MethodEndpoint::Route(handler.into_route(state))
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 impl<S, B, E> Clone for MethodEndpoint<S, B, E> {
diff --git a/axum/src/routing/mod.rs b/axum/src/routing/mod.rs
index 2544ac4125..be7c179a02 100644
--- a/axum/src/routing/mod.rs
+++ b/axum/src/routing/mod.rs
@@ -400,6 +400,74 @@ where
     pub fn with_state(self, state: S) -> RouterService<B> {
         RouterService::new(self, state)
     }
+
+    /// Provide the state but keep the `Router`.
+    ///
+    /// This can be used to nest or merge routers with different state types:
+    ///
+    /// ```rust
+    /// use axum::{
+    ///     Router,
+    ///     routing::get,
+    ///     extract::State,
+    /// };
+    ///
+    /// #[derive(Clone)]
+    /// struct StateOne {}
+    ///
+    /// let router_one = Router::new().route("/one", get(|_: State<StateOne>| async {}));
+    ///
+    /// #[derive(Clone)]
+    /// struct StateTwo {}
+    ///
+    /// let router_two = Router::new().route("/two", get(|_: State<StateTwo>| async {}));
+    ///
+    /// #[derive(Clone)]
+    /// struct StateThree {}
+    ///
+    /// // our final router which requires `StateThree`
+    /// // the type annotations are just for clarity. Rust can infer them.
+    /// let app = Router::<StateThree>::new()
+    ///     // provide the state such that the router can be nested
+    ///     .nest("/one", router_one.provide_state(StateOne {}))
+    ///     // same for merge
+    ///     .merge(router_two.provide_state(StateTwo {}))
+    ///     // we can still add routes that requires `StateThree`
+    ///     .route("/three", get(|_: State<StateThree>| async {}))
+    ///     // provide the final state
+    ///     .with_state(StateThree {});
+    /// # let _: axum::routing::RouterService = app;
+    /// ```
+    ///
+    /// This is necessary because [`Router::nest`] and [`Router::merge`] both requires arguments of
+    /// type `Router`. If we used [`Router::with_state`] we'd get a [`RouterService`] which
+    /// wouldn't work. `Router::provide_state` maintains the `Router` type.
+    pub fn provide_state<S2>(self, state: S) -> Router<S2, B> {
+        let routes = self
+            .routes
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|(id, endpoint)| {
+                let endpoint: Endpoint<S2, B> = match endpoint {
+                    Endpoint::MethodRouter(method_router) => {
+                        Endpoint::MethodRouter(method_router.provide_state(state.clone()))
+                    }
+                    Endpoint::Route(route) => Endpoint::Route(route),
+                    Endpoint::NestedRouter(router) => {
+                        Endpoint::Route(router.into_route(state.clone()))
+                    }
+                };
+                (id, endpoint)
+            })
+            .collect();
+
+        let fallback = self.fallback.provide_state(state);
+
+        Router {
+            routes,
+            node: self.node,
+            fallback,
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 impl<B> Router<(), B>
@@ -539,6 +607,14 @@ where
             Self::BoxedHandler(handler) => Fallback::BoxedHandler(handler.map(f)),
         }
     }
+
+    fn provide_state<S2>(self, state: S) -> Fallback<S2, B, E> {
+        match self {
+            Fallback::Default(route) => Fallback::Default(route),
+            Fallback::Service(route) => Fallback::Service(route),
+            Fallback::BoxedHandler(handler) => Fallback::Service(handler.into_route(state)),
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 impl<S, B, E> Clone for Fallback<S, B, E> {
diff --git a/axum/src/routing/tests/merge.rs b/axum/src/routing/tests/merge.rs
index abad660a33..9d3d7d6f24 100644
--- a/axum/src/routing/tests/merge.rs
+++ b/axum/src/routing/tests/merge.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 use super::*;
-use crate::{error_handling::HandleErrorLayer, extract::OriginalUri, response::IntoResponse, Json};
+use crate::{
+    error_handling::HandleErrorLayer, extract::OriginalUri, response::IntoResponse, Json,
+    RouterService,
+};
 use serde_json::{json, Value};
 use tower::{limit::ConcurrencyLimitLayer, timeout::TimeoutLayer};
 
@@ -397,3 +400,25 @@ async fn middleware_that_return_early() {
     );
     assert_eq!(client.get("/public").send().await.status(), StatusCode::OK);
 }
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn merge_router_with_different_state() {
+    #[derive(Clone)]
+    struct A;
+
+    #[derive(Clone)]
+    struct B;
+
+    let router_a = Router::new().route("/", get(|_: State<A>| async { "get" }));
+    let router_b = Router::new().route("/", post(|_: State<B>| async { "post" }));
+
+    let app = Router::new()
+        .merge(router_a)
+        .merge(router_b.provide_state(B))
+        .with_state(A);
+
+    let client = TestClient::from_service(app);
+
+    assert_eq!(client.get("/").send().await.text().await, "get");
+    assert_eq!(client.post("/").send().await.text().await, "post");
+}