Drive from San Tan Valley to Maricopa to Casa Grande and you see mostly newer single-story houses on wide suburban lots. Pinal County homes average about 20 years old. Most were built in the growth that filled the corridor between Phoenix and Tucson.
That means a stair lift is not a given here. The homes that need one are usually the two-story tract houses built from the 2000s to the 2020s, plus split-level homes, townhouses and the outdoor steps that come with hillside lots out toward Superior, Oracle and Gold Canyon. This page walks through what fits those homes and who can help pay.
If your parent lives in a single-story house in San Tan Valley or Arizona City, there may be no indoor stairs at all. In that case the real question is usually the step at the front door or garage, which is a ramp or outdoor lift job.
Two-story tract homes are different. Many have one straight flight from the living room to the bedrooms, which is the simplest and quickest stair lift to install. Some builder plans add a landing or a turn, and those stairs call for a curved rail made to the measurements of that staircase.
Townhouses and duplexes often have narrow stairs, so we check the width and where the rail can mount before recommending a model. Split-level homes have short flights of a few steps, where a short straight lift or a small platform lift can work. Walk-up apartments need the building owner's approval before anything is attached to a shared stairway.
The county splits in two. The eastern half is mountainous mining country around Superior, Kearny, San Manuel and Mammoth, with elevations up to about 6,000 ft. The western half is low desert valley floor, about 2,000 sq mi of it, around Casa Grande, Eloy, Coolidge and Stanfield.
Casa Grande summer highs average around 104°F in July. Any lift or ramp that sits outside, on a porch, patio or entry stair, needs heat-durable materials, the same as installs over in Maricopa County. We look at sun exposure, seat and rail materials, and covers before quoting an outdoor unit.
In the hillier eastern towns, homes may have exterior steps from the driveway up to the door. Those runs can be long or uneven, and an outdoor platform lift or a ramp is sometimes the better answer than a seat lift.
About 21.3% of Pinal County residents are 65 or older, and communities like Saddlebrooke and Gold Canyon draw many retirees. Roughly 79.3% of households own their home, which matters because owners can approve rail mounting without asking a landlord.
If the person who needs the lift served, it is worth checking VA benefits before paying out of pocket. The Casa Grande VA Clinic, part of the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, serves veterans in Casa Grande, Coolidge, Maricopa and Florence.
The 2024 median property value in Pinal County was about $349,000, and many families here are budgeting carefully. Several programs can help, and the right one depends on age, health and veteran status.
For people who qualify for nursing-facility level of care, the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) can pay for a stair lift as a home modification. Adults 60 and older, and some younger adults with disabilities, can ask Central Arizona Aging about its home repair and adaptation program. Veterans should talk to the VA about Prosthetics or the SAH/SHA grant, since the HISA grant does not cover the lift itself.
Two other statewide options are worth asking about: Arizona Loans for Assistive Technology (AzLAT) and the Senior Property Valuation Protection Option (Senior Freeze, AZ Form 104). Details for the main programs are listed below.
A statewide Medicaid waiver benefit that covers stair lifts as modifications to an existing home for ALTCS-eligible members, with no fixed cap and approval decided case by case. Call (855) 432-7587.
The Area Agency on Aging for Pinal and Gila counties helps people 60 and older, and disabled adults 18 to 59, with grab bars, ramps and safety modifications; stair lift coverage is unknown, so call (800) 293-9393 to confirm.
A federal VA grant for ramps and structural changes, with a $6,800 or $2,000 lifetime maximum depending on service connection; it does not cover the stair lift, which goes through VA Prosthetics (PSAS) or the SAH/SHA grant. Call (520) 792-1450.
Older adults
8969 W. McCartney Rd., Casa Grande, 85194
Veterans
318 North Florence Street, Suite A, Casa Grande, 85122
Maybe not indoors. Most Pinal County homes are single story, so the issue is often the entry step or garage step, which may call for a ramp or an outdoor lift rather than a stair lift.
It can if it is built for it. Casa Grande summer highs average around 104°F in July, so outdoor units need heat-durable materials, and we plan for sun exposure and covers.
Yes, possibly. Central Arizona Aging serves disabled adults 18 to 59 in Pinal or Gila County who have a physician-diagnosed impairment that limits daily activities. Call (800) 293-9393.
Not through the HISA grant, which covers ramps and structural changes. The lift itself is covered through VA Prosthetics (PSAS) or the SAH/SHA grant. The Arizona Department of Veterans' Services office in Casa Grande can help at (520) 510-5142.
There is no fixed cap. ALTCS decides case by case based on the member's service plan, and the modification must be to an existing structure. Call (855) 432-7587.
Central Arizona Aging, listed as Region 5 - Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens, is at 8969 W. McCartney Rd., Casa Grande 85194. The phone is (520) 836-2758.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
