El Dorado County runs from the Gold Country foothills around Placerville, Diamond Springs and Shingle Springs up through Pollock Pines and Camino to Meyers and South Lake Tahoe in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Almost every home in between was built to fit a slope, and that usually means stairs inside, stairs outside, or both.
This page covers what the county's homes and hills mean for choosing a stair lift, and which agencies and programs serving El Dorado County residents may help with the cost. Phone numbers are listed so you can check eligibility directly.
Placerville, Georgetown, Coloma and Diamond Springs still have 19th-century buildings and historic homes from the mining days. Those houses were built long before anyone thought about single-level living, so staircases are often narrow, steep or turn partway up. A turning or landing staircase calls for a curved stair lift with a rail made to fit that exact staircase.
El Dorado Hills, the county's most populous community, has a lot of contemporary two-story homes from newer master-planned growth. Many of those have one straight run of stairs between floors, which is the simplest and quickest kind of stair lift to install. Townhouses across the county often follow the same pattern.
El Dorado County lies entirely within the Sierra Nevada, with rolling hills and mountains across about 1,708 square miles of land. Split-level and hillside homes are common here, and a split-level can mean several short flights instead of one long one. Each short flight may need its own straight lift, or one curved rail can sometimes connect them.
Grade changes outside the house matter too. When the steps from the driveway or yard to the front door are the hard part, an outdoor stair lift built for weather exposure can handle that stretch. For someone who uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer to a seat, a platform lift is the option to ask about instead.
Ranch-style homes are usually the easiest case, but even a single-story house may have steps down to a garage or deck. It is worth walking the whole route you use every day before deciding what you need.
About 21.6% of El Dorado County's 134,665 residents are 65 or older, and the median age is 46.1. With 72.8% of households owning their homes, many people here are deciding how to stay in a house they already own rather than moving.
If that includes you or a parent, the VA grants listed below and the El Dorado County Veterans Service Office at 130 Placerville Drive, Suite B, Placerville, (530) 621-5892, are a good first stop.
No single program here clearly pays for stair lifts, so the honest approach is to make a few calls. The Medi-Cal HCBA Waiver and the VA housing grants may cover one as a home modification, but each needs to be confirmed for your situation. IHSS does not pay for stair lifts.
For help sorting through options, the El Dorado County AAA (PSA 29) is at 937 Spring Street, Placerville, (530) 621-6150. Statewide, you can also ask about VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics), the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) and the FreedomTech Low-Interest Assistive Technology Loan.
A Medi-Cal waiver for people who need nursing facility level of care but can be served safely at home; stair lift coverage is unknown, though one may be authorized as a home modification when medically necessary, and there is a statewide waitlist. Call (800) 300-1506 to confirm.
Provides assessment, information and referral to home-modification resources and in-home support for residents 60 and older; stair lifts are not listed as a funded item. Call (530) 621-6369.
Pays for authorized hours of in-home personal care and domestic help for Medi-Cal members who are 65+, blind or disabled, and does not cover stair lifts or other home modifications. Call (530) 642-4800.
Offers disability advocacy, benefits navigation, options counseling and referrals to home-modification and assistive-technology resources for people of all ages in Placer, El Dorado and Alpine counties; stair lifts are not listed. Call (530) 885-6100.
VA grants for veterans and servicemembers with a qualifying service-connected disability who own or will own the home, with FY2026 maximums of up to $126,526 (SAH) and $25,350 (SHA); whether a stair lift qualifies is unknown, so confirm by calling (800) 827-1000.
A nonprofit that provides free minor safety repairs such as grab bars and handrails for low- and moderate-income homeowners in El Dorado County, with an average wait of 3-4 weeks; stair lifts are not listed. Call (916) 455-1880.
A deferred-payment rehabilitation loan for income-qualified homeowners in unincorporated El Dorado County, repaid on sale or when the home is no longer owner-occupied; stair lifts are not explicitly confirmed. Call (530) 621-5824.
Older adults
937 Spring Street, Placerville, 95667
Veterans
130 Placerville Drive, Suite B, Placerville, 95667
Possibly, through the Medi-Cal HCBA Waiver, if the person needs nursing facility level of care and the lift is approved as a medically necessary home modification. The source does not name stair lifts, and there is a statewide waitlist, so call (800) 300-1506 to confirm.
No. IHSS in El Dorado County funds in-home personal care and domestic services, not home modifications like stair lifts.
Yes. The El Dorado County Area Agency on Aging serves residents 60 and older with assessments and referrals to home-modification resources. Call (530) 621-6369, or visit the AAA office at 937 Spring Street in Placerville.
Contact the El Dorado County Veterans Service Office in Placerville at (530) 621-5892. They can help check whether a service-connected disability qualifies for the VA SAH or SHA grants, which you can also ask about at (800) 827-1000.
It can help. The El Dorado County Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program serves income-qualified homeowners only in the unincorporated areas of the county. Stair lifts are not explicitly confirmed, so ask at (530) 621-5824.
Stair lifts are not listed among the items its Safe at Home Program covers. It does provide free grab bars, handrails and similar safety items for qualifying homeowners, with an average wait of 3-4 weeks.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
