Columbia County stretches across about 796 square miles of south-central Wisconsin, from flat farmland to the hilly Baraboo Range near Durward's Glen. Its 13 towns run from Portage, Columbus and Lodi to Wisconsin Dells, Poynette, Pardeeville, Fall River, Rio, Arlington, Cambria, Wyocena, Friesland and the Lake Wisconsin area. A lot of the homes here are older farmhouses and small-town houses with the bedrooms upstairs.
Those houses were built well before modern accessibility codes. When climbing to a second-floor bedroom gets hard, a stair lift is often the simplest way to keep living in the house you already own. This page walks through what local homes usually need and where Columbia County families can look for help paying for it.
About 66.2% of Columbia County residents live in rural areas, and many of those homes are multi-story farmhouses with a staircase leading to the bedrooms. In Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Lodi, Columbus and Pardeeville, older in-town houses sit alongside newer subdivisions.
A single straight flight from the first floor to the second is the most common setup we see, and it usually takes a straight stair lift. Older homes sometimes have a turn, a landing or a narrow winding section partway up. Those stairs call for a curved lift with a rail built to fit that staircase.
The Baraboo Range in the southwest part of the county rises to 1,480 feet near Durward's Glen. Properties near the range or built into hillsides often have steeper grades and multi-level layouts.
On a sloped lot, a ramp to the front door can be hard to build, so an outdoor stair lift on the entry steps or a platform lift may be worth considering. Inside, a split-level or walkout layout can mean more than one set of stairs, and each flight needs its own lift.
Columbia County has a population of 36,746, and 17.0% of residents are 65 or older. The median age was 43.7 in 2024. Per the 2020 census, 74.6% of housing is owner-occupied, so most older residents are making decisions about a home they own.
If someone in your family served, it is worth checking VA benefits before you buy, though the main VA home grant does not pay for stair lifts.
Two Wisconsin Medicaid programs, IRIS and Family Care, list stair lifts among the home modifications they can cover. Both require a Nursing Facility Level of Care and have a 2026 income limit of $2,982 a month and an asset limit of $2,000 for a single applicant. The Columbia County ADRC at 111 E. Mullett St. in Portage handles Family Care enrollment and can be reached at (608) 742-9233.
For veterans, the Columbia County Veterans Service Office at 112 E. Edgewater Street in Portage can be reached at (608) 742-9618. Families who do not qualify for Medicaid sometimes look at a home improvement loan, but the WHEDA program does not mention accessibility work, so ask before counting on it. Details on each program are below.
A self-directed Medicaid program offered in Columbia County that gives each participant an individualized annual budget, and its home modifications list includes stair lifts. It serves residents 65 and older, or 18 to 64 with a qualifying disability, who meet the income and asset limits; call (888) 515-4747.
Medicaid managed long-term care in which home modifications, including stair lifts, are approved case by case by the member's managed care organization. Enrollment goes through the Columbia County ADRC at (608) 742-9233.
A VA grant for permanent changes such as ramps, roll-in showers and lowered fixtures, but it specifically excludes stair glides, so it does not fund stair lifts. Columbia County veterans are served by the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison at (608) 256-1901.
VA grants for veterans with certain severe service-connected disabilities to build, buy or remodel a home for accessibility, with SAH up to $126,526 and SHA up to $25,350 for FY2026. Stair lifts are not named on the program page, so ask at (608) 256-1901.
A $10,000 to $50,000 loan for current Wisconsin homeowners with a credit score of 620 or higher, with renovations finished within 6 months. The program page does not mention stair lifts or accessibility work.
Older adults
111 E. Mullett St., Portage, 53901
Veterans
112 E. Edgewater Street, Portage, 53901
It can. IRIS and Family Care both list stair lifts as a covered home modification for people who meet a Nursing Facility Level of Care and the financial limits, which for 2026 are $2,982 a month in income and $2,000 in assets for a single applicant.
Call the Columbia County ADRC at (608) 742-9233. It is located at 111 E. Mullett St. in Portage, and Family Care enrollment goes through the ADRC.
Yes, IRIS and Family Care also serve adults 18 to 64 with a qualifying physical, developmental or intellectual disability who meet the other requirements.
No. The VA program page excludes stair glides and porch lifts from HISA. It pays for permanent changes like ramps and roll-in showers. The Columbia County Veterans Service Office at (608) 742-9618 can help you look at other VA options.
Usually, yes. Stairs with a turn or landing need a curved stair lift with a rail made to fit that staircase, rather than a straight lift.
Not necessarily. IRIS sets a home equity limit of $752,000 for a single applicant, separate from the $2,000 asset limit.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
