New Albany still has many 19th-century homes from its shipbuilding years, from the late-19th-century mansions of Main Street's mansion row to tall houses on side streets near the Ohio River. Farther inland, Floyds Knobs, Georgetown, Galena and Greenville sit among the steep hills people here have long called the Knobs. Both kinds of places tend to mean stairs: interior staircases in older multi-story houses and graded lots that step up from the street.
This page covers the county's five towns and its 49,155 residents. It explains how local homes affect which stair lift makes sense, what outdoor and platform options can do on a sloped lot, and which agencies in New Albany can help you look into paying for the work.
Floyd County's seat holds a large stock of 19th-century housing, including mansion row homes such as the three-story French Second Empire-style Culbertson Mansion. Houses from that era were built tall, and the interior staircase is often the main path between living space and bedrooms.
A staircase that runs in one straight line from bottom to top can usually take a straight stair lift, which rides a rail fastened to the steps. Stairs with a landing, a turn or a curve need a curved rail built to fit that staircase. We measure the stairs in person before recommending either one.
Housing in the county also includes single-family homes, detached houses, townhouses, split-level homes and walk-up apartments. A split-level home has short flights between floors, so one lift may not reach every level, and we look at which flight matters most for daily life.
Townhouses often have a single long flight that suits a straight rail. In a walk-up apartment, the stairs may be shared with other units, which affects what can be installed and where.
Floyd County has the second-smallest land area of Indiana's 92 counties and is among the hilliest. The ground rises sharply from the Ohio River shoreline near New Albany, the county's lowest point at 380 feet. The hills were rugged enough that railroad builders bored the Duncan Tunnel, completed in 1881, instead of running a line over them.
That terrain creates steep home sites and multi-level lot grading. If the hard part of getting home is the steps from the driveway or up to the porch, an outdoor stair lift built for the weather, or a vertical platform lift at the entry, may solve more than an indoor lift would.
About 17.1% of Floyd County residents are 65 or older, and 63.7% of households own their homes. Owners have more freedom to make a permanent change like a stair lift, and several of the programs below are tied to owning and living in the home.
If that includes someone in your family, the Floyd County Veterans Service Office at (812) 948-5495 can explain which VA benefits apply.
As of 2023, New Albany's median household income was $54,152, below Indiana's $69,477, and 18.4% of city residents lived below the poverty line compared with 12.3% statewide. For many families here, help from a waiver or grant matters more than paying out of pocket.
The programs listed below fund home modifications, but none of their sources names stair lifts as a covered item, so ask directly before you count on them. Lifespan Resources, the Area Agency on Aging for Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Scott counties, is a good first call at (812) 948-8330. Statewide options worth asking about include the Indiana PathWays for Aging & Health and Wellness Medicaid Waivers, the CHOICE Program (Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled), the INDATA Alternative Financing Program (AFP) and VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics).
This Medicaid waiver pays for minor physical adaptations to the home needed for health, welfare and safety, for people who meet Medicaid and nursing-facility level of care rules; the source does not name stair lifts. It is handled locally through Lifespan Resources at (812) 948-8330.
Lifespan Resources lists environmental modifications among its in-home services for Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Scott county residents, after a case-management assessment; stair lifts are not named specifically. Call case management at (812) 948-8330.
Very-low-income homeowners in USDA-eligible rural areas can get loans up to $40,000 at 1% over 20 years, and owners 62 and older can get grants up to $10,000 to remove health and safety hazards; the source names ramps and grab bars but not stair lifts. Not all of Floyd County qualifies as rural, especially the New Albany area, so eligibility must be checked by address.
HISA provides up to $6,800 lifetime for a qualifying service-connected disability or up to $2,000 for other non-service-connected disabilities, with a VA physician's prescription. The VA's HISA page lists stair glides among excluded removable equipment, so it is not a route to a stair lift; the Floyd County Veterans Service Office at (812) 948-5495 can discuss other VA options.
Older adults
33 State St., Third Floor, New Albany, 47151
Veterans
311 West 1st Street, Room 100, New Albany, 47150
No. The official VA HISA page lists stair glides, along with portable ramps and porch lifts, as removable equipment that HISA does not fund. HISA covers items such as entrance access, roll-in showers and entrance ramping. Ask the Floyd County Veterans Service Office at (812) 948-5495 about other VA benefits.
The USDA Section 504 grants are limited to homeowners 62 and older. Younger very-low-income homeowners in eligible rural areas may still qualify for a Section 504 repair loan of up to $40,000 at 1% interest.
Not necessarily. Not all of Floyd County qualifies as a USDA rural area, especially the New Albany and Louisville-metro portion, so eligibility has to be checked by address.
The Aged and Disabled Waiver covers environmental modifications, defined as minor physical adaptations to the home for health, welfare and safety. The source does not name stair lifts, so ask your case manager at Lifespan Resources, (812) 948-8330, whether your project fits.
Yes, outdoor stair lifts are built for exterior steps, and a vertical platform lift can work where an entry has a rise but no room for a long rail. We look at the grade and the steps on site before suggesting either.
Lifespan Resources (PSA 14) is at 33 State St., Third Floor, New Albany 47151. The phone number is (812) 948-8330.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
