From the Victorian houses near the courthouse square in Georgetown to the newer two-story subdivisions in Leander, Cedar Park and Liberty Hill, Williamson County has a wide mix of staircases. Add split-level layouts in the master-planned neighborhoods and older homes out in Taylor, Granger and Bartlett, and no two installs here look quite alike.
This page walks through what the county's homes and terrain mean for a stair lift, and where families in Round Rock, Hutto, Jarrell, Florence and the other 18 towns can look for help paying for one. If you are weighing a lift for a parent or for yourself, start with the staircase you actually have.
Williamson County is split by the Balcones Escarpment, and Interstate 35 runs roughly along that line. West of it, the land is hilly brushland averaging about 850 feet in elevation. East of it, the blackland prairie is flat to gently rolling at about 600 feet.
That difference shows up at the front door. On a sloped lot, the trouble spot may be the steps outside rather than the stairs inside, and an outdoor-rated lift or a platform lift can handle that. On flatter prairie lots, the main question is usually the interior staircase.
A straight staircase with no turns or landings takes a straight rail, which is the simplest and quickest install. Many of the two-story suburban homes built during the county's growth have stairs like this, though it is worth measuring before assuming.
Split-level homes are a different job. They often have short runs between levels, so a household might need more than one lift, or a curved rail that follows the turn. Townhouses, walk-up apartments and low-rise buildings can also take a lift, but if you rent or share a building, get permission from the owner or association before anything goes on the wall.
Georgetown's Williamson County Courthouse Historical District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 with roughly 46 contributing structures, includes Victorian residential architecture. If a staircase in one of these houses turns or has a landing, a custom curved rail is the usual answer, and a rail attaches to the stair treads rather than the walls.
Sun City Texas in Georgetown opened in June 1995 and limits residency to persons 55 and older (one member of a couple). As of 2021 it had about 15,700 residents in roughly 8,500 homes on a 4,700-acre community that is still expanding. Most homes there are single-family, with a limited number of duplexes.
Across the county, 13.4% of residents are 65 or older and 67.9% are homeowners. For owners planning to stay put, a stair lift lets the second floor stay part of daily life instead of becoming storage.
Be direct with yourself about the funding picture: none of the programs below names stair lifts as a covered item, and the VA HISA grant specifically excludes them. That does not mean help is off the table. Medicaid waiver benefits depend on the individual service plan, and local nonprofits can point you to options.
The county's Veteran Services office at 100 Wilco Way, Ste V101, Georgetown, can be reached at (512) 943-1900. For aging services, call the Capital Area AAA (CAPCOG) at (512) 916-6062.
Statewide, it is also worth asking about the Amy Young Barrier Removal Program (AYBR) and the Community Living Assistance and Support Services (CLASS) Waiver, along with the STAR+PLUS Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver and VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics).
A Texas Medicaid waiver benefit with a lifetime limit of $7,500 per member for minor home modifications, plus $300 per year for repairs after that limit is reached. Stair lifts are not named in the covered-items list, so approval would depend on the member's individual service plan.
A VA lifetime grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000, depending on disability status, for medically necessary structural alterations. It explicitly excludes stair glides and other removable equipment, so it does not cover a stair lift.
A VA grant of up to $126,526 lifetime for a permanent home (FY2026), or up to $50,961 through the Temporary Residence Adaptation option, for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities. Stair lifts are not mentioned by name in the source.
A VA grant of up to $25,350 lifetime for a permanent home (FY2026), or up to $9,100 through the TRA option, for veterans with certain severe service-connected disabilities. The source does not list stair lifts among covered modifications.
A nonprofit repair program for income-qualified homeowners in Williamson County that lists improving accessibility among its repair categories, though stair lifts are not named. Call (512) 863-4344.
Lends medical equipment free to older adults and caregivers, from a regional office at 2425 Williams Drive, Suite 103, Georgetown. Stair lifts are not named among the equipment; call (512) 451-4611.
A Center for Independent Living offering information and referral, peer counseling, advocacy and independent living services for people with disabilities. It does not list a stair lift funding program, so treat it as a referral and advocacy contact.
Older adults
6800 Burleson Road, Bldg. 301, Suite 165, Austin, 78744
Veterans
100 Wilco Way, Ste V101, Georgetown, 78626
Not through the HISA grant, which explicitly excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either way, so ask Veteran Services in Georgetown at (512) 943-1900 about your situation.
The STAR+PLUS HCBS Minor Home Modifications benefit does not list stair lifts among covered items. Coverage would depend on the member's individual service plan and a finding of medical necessity, up to the $7,500 lifetime limit.
Habitat for Humanity of Williamson County runs a Home Repair Program that includes accessibility work. You must own and live in the home, be current on mortgage and property taxes, and have household income at or below 80% of area median family income. Call (512) 863-4344.
Sometimes a curved rail can follow the turns between levels, and sometimes separate straight lifts make more sense. It depends on how the flights connect, which is why we measure in person.
Outdoor-rated stair lifts and platform lifts are built for exterior steps. We look at the entry along with the interior stairs so the whole path into the house works.
The Capital Area AAA (CAPCOG) at (512) 916-6062 handles aging services for the area. AGE of Central Texas also has a Georgetown office reachable at (512) 451-4611.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
