From the Victorian shingle-style and Queen Anne cottages of Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Spring Lake to the mid-20th-century houses of Howell, Marlboro and Manalapan, Monmouth County's 71 towns hold a wide mix of staircases. A seasonal beach bungalow in Manasquan and a suburban single-family home in Holmdel can call for very different lifts.
This page walks through how the county's homes, shoreline and winters shape the choice between a straight, curved, outdoor or platform lift. It also lists the county offices and programs to call when you start working out how to pay for one.
Much of the housing along the coast in Long Branch, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Spring Lake and Manasquan dates to the area's 19th-century resort boom. If a staircase in one of these older cottages turns, has a landing or changes direction, a curved lift is built to fit that exact staircase.
Further inland, in towns like Freehold, Wall, Hazlet and Tinton Falls, the housing is more often mid-20th-century suburban single-family construction. When the stairs run in one straight flight from bottom to top, a straight rail is usually the simpler install.
Townhouses and row houses can go either way, so we measure each staircase rather than guess from the outside. In walk-up apartments and low-rise buildings where stairs may be shared, check with the building owner before planning a lift.
Monmouth County sits on the low-lying Atlantic Coastal Plain, is roughly 30% water and fronts the Atlantic Ocean along its shore towns. For a porch or deck lift near the coast, the exterior hardware should be marine-grade and corrosion-resistant.
Winters inland are cold too, with Freehold-area lows around 22°F in January. Any outdoor or porch lift in the county needs freeze-rated parts so it keeps working through the season.
The median home value in Monmouth County is about $606,100, according to 2024 Census ACS data. About 78.7% of households own their homes, so for many families the house itself is the biggest thing they have.
A professional move typically runs roughly $800 to $2,500 for a local move, or $2,500 to $7,500+ for a long-distance one. That is before the cost of buying a single-story home, which is why a stair lift is often the far cheaper way to keep using the house you already own.
With 18.3% of the county's 727,572 residents age 65 or older, this is a question a lot of Monmouth County families are working through right now.
No local program below promises to cover a stair lift outright, but a few are worth a call. The county Home Repair Program has a separate Barrier Free Application for accessibility work, and the HRP Coordinator can be reached at 732-431-7460 x5736 to confirm whether a lift fits that scope.
If you are not sure where to start, the Monmouth County Division on Aging, Disabilities & Veterans Services at 3000 Kozloski Road in Freehold, (732) 431-7450, can point you to the right program. Statewide options include Jersey Assistance for Community Caregiving (JACC) and NJ Medicaid MLTSS.
They can contact the Monmouth County Veterans Services Office at (732) 683-8675 and ask about VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics). Nearby VA care includes the Tinton Falls VA Clinic, the Leonard G. "Bud" Lomell VA Clinic in Toms River and the East Orange VA Medical Center (VA New Jersey Health Care System).
A HUD CDBG-funded county grant of up to $10,000 for one repair category, at no cost to income-qualified owner-occupants; stair lifts are not named on its work list, though it accepts a separate Barrier Free Application for accessibility modifications. Asbury Park, Long Branch and Middletown residents are excluded, and others should call (732) 431-7460 (HRP Coordinator x5736) to confirm eligibility.
An information and referral service, not a funding source, open to county residents with no income test; whether it can help with a stair lift directly is unknown. Call (732) 431-7450 as a first stop to be pointed to the right home modification program.
A nonprofit program that builds wheelchair ramps for households up to 80% of Monmouth County Area Median Income, with the homeowner typically paying 10-20% of the project cost; stair lifts are not listed in its scope. Call (732) 443-1672 to ask what it can do for your home.
A statewide New Jersey program. Ask the Division on Aging at (732) 431-7450 whether it applies to your situation and to home modifications.
A statewide New Jersey Medicaid program. The Division on Aging at (732) 431-7450 can help you find out whether it may apply to your home.
Statewide VA benefits for eligible veterans. Start with the Monmouth County Veterans Services Office at (732) 683-8675 to ask how to apply.
Older adults
3000 Kozloski Road, Freehold, 07728
Veterans
3000 Kozloski Road, Freehold, 07728
No. Asbury Park, Long Branch and Middletown residents are excluded because those towns run their own separately HUD-funded rehab programs, so contact your town about those.
Stair lifts are not named on its eligible-work list, but the program has a Barrier Free Application for accessibility modifications. Call the HRP Coordinator at 732-431-7460 x5736 to confirm before counting on it.
Sources differ, listing either 1 year or 3+ years. Confirm the current requirement with the office at (732) 431-7460.
Its Ramps & Rails program is described as building wheelchair ramps, and stair lifts are not listed. Call (732) 443-1672 to ask directly.
The Monmouth County Division on Aging, Disabilities & Veterans Services at (732) 431-7450, 3000 Kozloski Road in Freehold. It refers residents to the county Home Repair Program and Monmouth Habitat for Humanity.
Near the coast, exterior hardware should be marine-grade and corrosion-resistant. Outdoor lifts anywhere in the county also need freeze-rated parts for cold winters.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
