The Santa Cruz Mountains run the full length of San Mateo County, splitting the busy bayside corridor from the rugged coast at Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. That ridge shapes the houses too. In foothill neighborhoods from Belmont and San Carlos to Emerald Lake Hills and Woodside, homes sit on sloped lots with raised front entries and more than one interior level.
Much of the owner-occupied housing here is mid-20th-century Peninsula suburban stock, and many of the people living in it have been there a long time. With a 0.6% homeowner vacancy rate, moving to a single-story house is not easy. For a lot of families, the practical question is how to make the stairs they already have safe to use every day.
A house on a slope often has stairs in places a flat-lot house does not: steps up from the street to the front door, a short run between split levels, and a full flight to the bedrooms. Each of those is its own stair lift question.
A single straight flight usually takes a straight rail, which is the simplest install. Split-level homes, common in the hillside neighborhoods along the foothills, often have landings or turns, and those call for a curved rail or more than one lift. Exterior steps up to a raised entry may need an outdoor lift built for weather, and a platform lift can make sense where a wheelchair has to come along.
San Mateo County covers 741 sq mi and 33 towns, with 283,693 housing units counted in 2020. The housing mix includes single-family homes, townhouses, walk-up apartments, low-rise buildings and split-level homes.
Townhouses in places like Foster City or Redwood City tend to stack living space over two or three floors, which means a long or multi-section rail. Walk-up apartments and low-rise buildings raise a different issue: shared stairs belong to the building, so the owner or association has to approve any lift. In coastal spots such as Montara, Moss Beach and El Granada, any outdoor lift should be chosen with the coastal climate in mind.
Of the county's 727,512 residents, 17.3% are 65 or older. In 2020, 56.5% of occupied units were owner-occupied, and many of those owners are long-tenured residents who would rather adapt a multistory home than sell it.
If that includes someone in your family, the San Mateo County Veterans Services Office at 550 Quarry Road in San Carlos, (650) 802-6598, can help sort out which VA benefits apply.
The clearest public funding is through Medi-Cal. The CalAIM Community Supports benefit, run locally by the Health Plan of San Mateo, lists stair lifts by name and allows up to $7,500 per member over a lifetime. The HCBA Waiver covers home modifications when they are medically necessary to avoid a nursing facility.
Beyond Medi-Cal, help is more about home modifications in general, and stair lifts are not always on the list. Local nonprofits, city housing rehab programs and VA grants are all worth a call, but ask directly whether a stair lift qualifies before you count on it. Statewide options to ask about include the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP), VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics) and the FreedomTech Low-Interest Assistive Technology Loan.
A good first call is San Mateo County Aging & Adult Services at (650) 573-2700, located at 225 37th Avenue in San Mateo. They can point you toward the programs below that fit your situation.
A statewide Medi-Cal waiver for people who qualify for nursing-facility or hospital-level care but can be served safely at home; home modifications are covered when medically necessary and authorized in the Plan of Treatment, and stair lifts are marked as covered though the source does not name them specifically. Call (916) 552-9105.
An optional Medi-Cal managed-care benefit administered locally by the Health Plan of San Mateo that explicitly lists stair lifts, custom ramps and grab bars. It pays up to a $7,500 lifetime maximum per member for those at risk of hospitalization or nursing-facility care.
An information and referral service for adults 60 and older, people with disabilities, dependent adults and caregivers, connecting residents to home-modification and repair resources; stair lift funding is not listed. Call the 24-hour line at (844) 868-0938.
A nonprofit independent living center offering free accessibility modification help to qualified residents, including renters; stair lifts are not listed, so ask whether yours would qualify. Call (650) 645-1780.
No-cost safety repairs and accessibility work, such as grab bars, wheelchair ramps and stair repair, for income-qualified Peninsula homeowners; stair lifts are not listed. Call (650) 366-6597.
Rehab loans, grants and minor home repair for income-qualified homeowners, and it is unknown whether stair lifts are eligible. Daly City (650-991-8068), Redwood City (650-780-7229) and South San Francisco (650-829-6620) run their own programs, while the County Dept. of Housing works with nonprofit partners elsewhere.
Federal grants for veterans and service members with qualifying service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026, applied for with VA Form 26-4555; stair lifts are not listed among the example adaptations. Call (800) 827-1000.
Older adults
225 37th Avenue, San Mateo, 94403
Veterans
550 Quarry Road, San Carlos, 94002
It can. The CalAIM Community Supports home modification benefit, handled by the Health Plan of San Mateo, lists stair lifts and allows up to $7,500 per member over a lifetime for members at risk of hospitalization or nursing-facility care. The HCBA Waiver also covers medically necessary home modifications for people who qualify for facility-level care.
Sometimes, but often not. A split-level home usually has short runs with landings or turns, so it may need a curved rail or a separate lift for each run. We look at every set of steps, including any outside steps up to the front door, before recommending anything.
San Mateo County Aging and Disability Services serves adults 60 and older and their caregivers. It does not fund stair lifts directly, but it connects residents to home-modification and repair resources. Call (844) 868-0938, or reach Aging & Adult Services at (650) 573-2700.
CID offers free housing accessibility modification assistance, including to people who rent. Stair lifts are not itemized, so call (650) 645-1780 to ask. Keep in mind the building owner will need to approve any lift on shared stairs.
The SAH and SHA grants fund home adaptations for veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities, but the source does not list stair lifts. Call the VA at (800) 827-1000 or the San Mateo County Veterans Services Office at (650) 802-6598 to ask, including about HISA and prosthetics benefits.
Yes, each runs its own housing rehab program for income-qualified homeowners: Daly City at 650-991-8068, Redwood City at 650-780-7229 and South San Francisco at 650-829-6620. Whether a stair lift is eligible is not stated, so ask when you call.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
