Most homes in Gillette, Wright and Sleepy Hollow went up during or after the Powder River Basin coal boom. Of 20,023 housing units in Campbell County, just 488 predate 1940, while 4,329 were built in the 1970s, 3,801 in the 1980s and another 5,234 in the 2000s. That means the stairs an older resident climbs every day are usually in a boom-era subdivision house or a manufactured home, not a century-old farmhouse.
Only 199 units have been built here since 2020, so staying put almost always means adapting the house you already own. This page walks through how local home styles and winters shape the choice of stair lift, and which offices and programs to call about paying for one.
Split-level homes are common in the county's subdivisions, and they often have short flights of stairs between levels. A short straight flight can take a straight rail lift, but a stair that turns at a landing needs a curved rail built to fit that staircase.
Ranch-style and single-family homes with one straight indoor stairway are usually the simplest fit. A straight rail mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, and the seat folds up so the stairs stay usable for everyone else.
Duplexes and low-rise buildings raise one extra question: who controls the stairway. If the stairs are shared, a vertical platform lift or an outdoor lift at the entry may make more sense than a chair on a common staircase.
Campbell County has 4,027 manufactured or mobile homes alongside 11,179 detached single-family houses. In a manufactured home the hard part is rarely inside. It is the set of exterior steps between the door and the ground.
For those entries, an outdoor stair lift or a vertical platform lift is the usual answer. With a cold semi-arid climate and severely cold winters (USDA hardiness zone 5a), icy exterior steps are an ordinary winter hazard here, so any outdoor unit needs a weather cover and should be planned with snow and ice in mind.
The county covers 4,807 square miles between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, including part of the Thunder Basin National Grassland. Gillette, at 4,554 feet, holds most of the population, but many residents live in unincorporated places such as Rozet, Recluse, Wyodak and Spotted Horse.
Service crews reach outlying ranch properties over Interstate 90, U.S. Highways 14 and 16, and Wyoming state routes 50, 51, 59, 387 and 450. If you live far out, plan the measurement visit and install before the worst of winter, when long rural drives get harder.
About 76.3% of Campbell County households own their home, and 11.5% of residents are 65 or older. With that much ownership, a stair lift is usually the homeowner's own call rather than a landlord's.
The Wyoming Veterans Commission Veteran Service Officer for Campbell, Crook and Weston Counties works out of 551 Running W Drive, Suite 100, in Gillette and can be reached at (307) 696-5048.
None of the programs below name stair lifts in their source material, so treat each one as a call to ask, not a promise. Some cover related work such as ramps, grab bars or doorway widening, and coverage can depend on how a need is documented.
A good first call is the ADRC of Wyoming at 211 or (888) 425-7138, which can tell you what home modification or equipment loan resources are active locally. Other statewide programs to ask about include the Wyoming Technology Access Program (WyTAP), VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics), the Wyoming Home Services Program (WyHS) and the Wyoming Property Tax Refund Program.
A nonprofit senior center at 701 Stocktrail Ave in Gillette offering a Loan Closet, Wyoming Home Services, transportation, home-delivered meals and caregiver support for Wyoming residents 60 and older and their families. Its materials do not say whether the Loan Closet includes stair lifts, so call (307) 686-0804 to ask.
Wyoming's main Medicaid waiver for people 65 and older, or 19 to 64 with a qualifying disability, who meet nursing facility level of care and want to stay home. Its listed home modifications are wheelchair ramps, grab bars and doorway widening, and stair lifts are not mentioned; call (855) 294-2127 for details.
The Wyoming Department of Health division that oversees supportive services, family caregiver support and Wyoming Home Services delivered through county senior centers. It does not list a specific stair lift or home modification benefit; call (307) 777-7995.
A statewide call center that connects older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers to local services, open Monday through Friday, 8AM to 5PM. It does not fund modifications itself but can point you to current local resources at 211 or (888) 425-7138.
Federal loans up to $40,000 at 1% fixed interest and grants up to $10,000 for very-low-income rural homeowners, with grants limited to applicants 62 and older for removing health and safety hazards. Accessibility work such as stair lifts is not specifically named; ask your local Rural Development office.
Up to $126,526 (FY2026 maximum) for veterans with certain severe service-connected disabilities to build, buy or adapt a home. Ramps and doorway widening are given as examples, and stair lifts are not named.
Up to $25,350 (FY2026 maximum) to adapt an existing home for veterans with qualifying disabilities such as loss or loss of use of both hands. Stair lifts are not named among covered adaptations, so ask the Veteran Service Officer in Gillette at (307) 696-5048.
Older adults
6101 Yellowstone Road, Suite 259B, Cheyenne, 82002
Veterans
551 Running W Drive, Suite 100, Gillette, 82718
The Community Choices Waiver lists wheelchair ramps, grab bars and doorway widening as home modifications, and it does not mention stair lifts. Applicants must meet nursing facility level of care, with a 2026 income limit of about $2,982 a month and an asset limit of $2,000 single or $3,000 for a couple. Call (855) 294-2127 to ask about your situation.
The Campbell County Senior Center serves residents 60 and older and their families. The Community Choices Waiver also covers adults 19 to 64 with a qualifying disability, and the ADRC of Wyoming at (888) 425-7138 helps people with disabilities of any age find local services.
The center does not publish a list of what the Loan Closet lends. Call the Campbell County Senior Center at (307) 686-0804 to ask whether it has stair lifts, ramps or other equipment available.
Yes, an outdoor stair lift or a vertical platform lift is the usual choice for exterior entry steps. Because winters here are severely cold and steps get icy, the unit should have a weather cover and be placed with snow clearing in mind.
Contact the Wyoming Veterans Commission Veteran Service Officer for Campbell, Crook and Weston Counties at 551 Running W Drive, Suite 100, Gillette, phone (307) 696-5048. They can help you look at the SAH and SHA grants and VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics).
A stair that turns needs a curved rail made to fit that specific staircase. If each flight is short and straight, separate straight lifts on each flight can sometimes work instead, and a home measurement will show which is the better fit.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
