From the 55+ communities around Lakewood and Holiday City-Berkeley to the bungalows of Point Pleasant Beach and the raised houses on Long Beach Island, Ocean County's 56 towns hold a wide mix of homes. Many were built for easy, one-level living. Plenty of others have a split-level layout, a tight staircase or a long flight of steps up from the street.
This page walks through what that housing and the shore climate mean for a stair lift, and where Ocean County families can look for help paying for one. If you are weighing a lift for yourself or a parent in Toms River, Brick, Stafford or anywhere in between, start here.
A lot of the county was built for single-level living. Leisure Village in Lakewood, built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, is made up of attached ranch-style condo units with one-car garages. Conventional ranches and Cape Cods from the mid-century and 1970s-80s building boom fill many neighborhoods too.
Our typical installs here skew toward single-story ranch layouts and split-level shore homes. Split-levels often have narrow, tight-radius staircases, and those usually call for a curved lift built to the exact shape of the stairs. A straight run with no turns or landings can usually take a straight lift.
Townhouses and low-rise buildings have their own questions, such as who owns the stairway and whether an association needs to sign off. We look at those during the in-home visit.
Ocean County is flat, but roughly 31% of its area is water, with about 40 miles of barrier beaches along the Atlantic and Barnegat Bay. Raised coastal homes near the bay and on the barrier islands, such as Long Beach Island, Ship Bottom and Surf City, often put the main living floor a full flight above the ground.
For those homes, an outdoor lift on the entry stairs or a platform lift can be the practical answer. Salt air and damp winters, with January lows averaging 22-26°F, are hard on metal. Marine-grade, corrosion-resistant hardware and rail finishes are worth asking about for any exterior or covered-porch lift near the water.
About 25.4% of Ocean County's 748,830 residents are 65 or older, and 78.9% of households own their homes. That is a large group of owners who can make changes to their own stairs without asking a landlord.
The Leonard G. "Bud" Lomell VA Clinic (Toms River VA Clinic) and the Lakewood Vet Center are both in the county, and the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau at 1027 Hooper Avenue, Building 2, Toms River, can be reached at (732) 929-2096 for help with VA benefits.
The median home value in Ocean County was $398,400 as of 2024, per U.S. Census Bureau data. Many families decide that adapting the home they already own makes more sense than selling.
Moving has costs of its own. A typical in-county household move with a local mover generally runs $800-$3,500, and larger shore homes or barrier-island properties with limited truck access land toward the higher end. A stair lift lets the person stay in the house and use the whole thing.
None of the local programs below list stair lifts by name, so call before you count on any of them. Several fund home accessibility work or home modifications for residents 60 and older, which is a reasonable place to start the conversation.
Where you live matters. The countywide rehab program excludes Brick, Toms River, Jackson and Lakewood Townships, which run their own programs, and the Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity program serves only northern towns. Statewide options to ask about include Jersey Assistance for Community Caregiving (JACC), NJ Medicaid MLTSS and VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics).
The Ocean County Office of Senior Services, at 1005 Hooper Avenue in Toms River, can be reached at (732) 929-2091 and is a good first call if you are not sure which program fits.
A 10-year forgivable deferred loan for income-eligible owner-occupied homes, with moderate rehab of $1,000-$24,999 and substantial rehab of $25,000-$50,000; it lists handicapped accessibility among eligible work, but stair lifts are not named. It covers the county except Brick, Toms River, Jackson and Lakewood Townships; call (732) 389-2958 to confirm.
A municipal forgivable deferred loan for income-eligible owner-occupied single-family homes in Toms River Township only, focused on code-compliance repairs. Stair lifts are not listed as eligible work, so call (732) 341-1000 to ask.
Free volunteer labor for minor home repairs, such as installing safety hand rails, for Ocean County residents 60 and older, who pay only for materials. Stair lifts are not on the published task list; call (732) 363-5322 with questions.
A county program that inspects the homes of residents 60 and older and arranges modifications for health and safety risks. Stair lifts are not itemized, so call (732) 349-1500 to ask whether one can be included.
Older Americans Act funds for adults 60 and older with an unpaid caregiver, covering minor home repairs and modifications, ramp installation and emergency response buttons. Stair lifts are not named; call (732) 349-1500 to confirm.
Critical home repair and forgivable loans for owner-occupied homes in about 20 northern Ocean County towns, from Bay Head to Plumsted Township, with income limits and a 2-year ownership requirement. It mentions accessibility upgrades but does not name stair lifts; call (732) 818-9500.
An information and referral office, not a funding source, whose intake includes architectural barriers and equipment. Whether it can point you to stair lift funding is unknown, so call (732) 506-5374.
Older adults
1005 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, 08754-2191
Veterans
1027 Hooper Avenue, Building 2, Toms River, 08753
No. Brick, Toms River, Jackson and Lakewood Townships are excluded from the countywide program because they run their own. Toms River residents can call the Toms River Township Housing Rehabilitation Program at (732) 341-1000.
Several county programs serve residents 60 and older, including SASS and the Title III-E Respite Care Program at (732) 349-1500 and the Fix-It Program at (732) 363-5322. None list stair lifts by name, so ask directly.
No. Its program covers only about 20 northern towns, such as Toms River, Brick, Lakewood, Jackson and Point Pleasant. Southern towns including Stafford, Barnegat, Little Egg Harbor and Long Beach Island are outside its area.
It can, with the right parts. Salt air and damp winters make marine-grade, corrosion-resistant hardware and rail finishes a practical choice for exterior or covered-porch lifts in shore and bayfront homes.
Narrow, tight-radius staircases are common in split-level shore homes here, and they usually need a curved lift made to fit. We measure the stairs in person to see what will work.
Call the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau at (732) 929-2096 to ask about VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics). Local VA care is available at the Toms River VA Clinic and the Lakewood Vet Center.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
