Murphy sits where the Hiwassee and Valley rivers meet, at 1,539 feet, and many homes around it were built into hillsides long before anyone wrote accessibility standards. Out toward Andrews and Marble, houses climb up slopes and sit on raised foundations, with steps at the front door and more steps inside.
That older, longtime-resident housing is the reason stair lifts come up so often here. This page walks through how Cherokee County homes tend to be laid out, which kind of lift usually fits, and which offices to call about paying for one.
Cherokee County's housing stock leans older, and much of it was built on hilly, riverine ground. Homes in the Blue Ridge foothills often end up multi-level, with raised entries and interior stairs between floors.
For a straight run of stairs between two floors, a straight stair lift is usually the simplest fit. Split-level homes are different: short flights, landings and turns often call for a curved lift built to the shape of the staircase.
Townhouses and walk-up apartments can work too, but stair width and who owns the stairway matter. We measure before recommending anything.
A lot of mountain and lakefront homes here have their front door well above the driveway. If the hard part of the day is getting from the car into the house, the inside staircase may not be the first problem to solve.
Outdoor stair lifts are built for exposed steps and porches. On a steep lot, we look at the full path from parking to door, since the right answer might be a lift on the outside steps, the inside stairs, or both.
Cherokee County has the second-oldest population of any county in North Carolina, and 30.4% of residents were 65 or older as of the 2020 census. Many families here are working out how a parent can keep living in a home they have owned for decades.
Distance matters too. The county covers 466.67 square miles of forested mountain terrain, roughly 31% of it in the Nantahala National Forest, and no interstate serves it. With only US Routes 19, 64, 74, and 129, reaching outlying homes means winding roads and longer travel times, so scheduling a measurement visit early helps.
Several programs serve the county, but none of the sources we reviewed name stair lifts as a covered item, and one, the VA HISA grant, excludes stair glides outright. Most of the others fund home repair, accessibility or mobility improvements in general, so the question to ask is whether a stair lift can count under that heading.
The Southwestern Commission Area Agency on Aging in Sylva at (828) 586-1962 is a good first call for older adults. It works with Cherokee County Senior Services, which delivers Housing and Home Improvement services locally.
Veterans can start with the Cherokee County Veterans Service Office at 75 Peachtree Street in Murphy, (828) 835-8663. North Carolina also offers the Elderly or Disabled Property Tax Homestead Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1), which is not a lift program but can ease the cost of staying in a home.
A Medicaid waiver for adults 18 and older who need nursing-facility level care but can be served at home; it lists equipment, modification and technology among its services, but stair lifts are not named. Call (888) 245-0179 or ask a CAP/DA case manager to confirm what is covered.
Helps people 60 and older with minor repairs and mobility and accessibility improvements, up to $7,000 per person per program year; stair lifts are not specifically named. Call (800) 662-7030, or contact Cherokee County Senior Services to ask whether a lift qualifies.
The regional aging-services hub for Cherokee and six nearby counties; it does not give cash grants but arranges Housing and Home Improvement services and caregiver support, and its page does not mention stair lifts. Call (828) 586-1962.
Offers very-low-income rural homeowners repair loans up to $40,000 at 1% over 20 years, plus grants up to $10,000 for those 62 or older who cannot repay a loan; stair lifts and accessibility work are not specifically named. Call the Franklin office at (828) 524-3175.
Statewide repair programs for low-income elderly or special-needs homeowners, including an accessibility modifications track, though stair lifts are not named. Call (919) 877-5700 to find the local partner serving far-western North Carolina.
Pays for medically necessary home changes for veterans with qualifying disabilities, up to $6,800 or $2,000 lifetime depending on rating, but stair glides are explicitly excluded. The Cherokee County Veterans Service Office at (828) 835-8663 can help with VA questions.
Grants for veterans with severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA (FY2026), to build, buy or remodel for accessibility; stair lifts are not specifically named. Ask the Cherokee County Veterans Service Office at (828) 835-8663 about eligibility.
A center for independent living serving people with disabilities in a seven-county area that includes Cherokee County; its sources do not mention stair lifts. Call the Sylva office at (828) 631-1167 to ask about current programs.
Older adults
125 Bonnie Lane, Sylva, 28779
Veterans
75 Peachtree Street, Murphy, 28906
Not through the HISA grant, which lists stair glides among excluded items. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either, so talk with the Cherokee County Veterans Service Office in Murphy at (828) 835-8663 about your situation.
The Home and Community Care Block Grant help requires age 60 or older, but the CAP/DA waiver serves Medicaid-eligible adults 18 and up who need nursing-facility level care. DisAbility Partners in Sylva, (828) 631-1167, also serves people with disabilities in Cherokee County.
For an older adult, start with the Southwestern Commission Area Agency on Aging at (828) 586-1962. It covers Cherokee County and works with Cherokee County Senior Services on Housing and Home Improvement.
Often, yes. Split-level homes usually have short flights with turns or landings, which tends to point toward a curved lift made for that staircase, so an in-home measurement comes first.
Many homes in the county have raised entries on sloped lots. An outdoor stair lift built for exposed steps may make more sense than an indoor one, and we look at the whole route from the driveway in.
The Section 504 program offers grants up to $10,000 for very-low-income homeowners 62 or older who cannot repay a loan. Stair lifts are not specifically named, so call the Franklin office at (828) 524-3175 to ask.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
