Drive from Woodstock up through Canton toward Ball Ground and Waleska and you can watch the land change. The southern end is classic Atlanta suburb, built out fast after Interstate 575 opened in 1979. The northern half rises into the foothills of the north Georgia mountains, topping out at Bear Mountain at 2,297 feet.
Both halves of the county share one thing: stairs. Two-story houses from the 1980s through the 2000s put the bedrooms upstairs, and hillside lots in the north add raised entries, daylight basements and split levels. This page walks through what that means for a stair lift in Woodstock, Canton, Holly Springs, Ball Ground, Nelson or Waleska, and where to look for help paying for one.
A large share of Cherokee County homes are two-story single-family houses with interior stairs running from the main or garage level up to the bedrooms. When climbing those stairs gets hard, the usual choice is moving into one room downstairs or putting in a lift.
Many of these staircases run in one straight flight, which is the simplest and quickest kind of stair lift to install. A straight rail mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, so the drywall and banister usually stay as they are.
If the stairs turn at a landing or wrap around a corner, a curved rail is built to fit that exact staircase. We measure on site before anything is ordered.
The county covers 434 square miles, and the northern part sits in foothill country with nine named summits, plus Lake Allatoona and the Etowah and Little Rivers cutting through. Homes on sloped lots here are often built with raised entries, daylight basements or split levels.
A split-level home can have two or three short flights instead of one long one. Sometimes the right answer is one lift on the flight used most, such as the one to the bedrooms, rather than a lift on every set of steps.
Steps outside the house matter too. An outdoor stair lift with weather-rated parts can handle porch or deck stairs, and for a person using a wheelchair, a platform lift or a ramp may fit the entry better than a seat.
Not every home here is a two-story suburban house. Townhouses often have narrow, steep stairs between floors, so the folding seat and footrest on a slim rail make a real difference.
Ranch-style homes look like they need no lift at all, but many in the hills sit over a daylight basement where the laundry or a second living area is. A short straight lift to that lower level can keep the whole house usable.
According to the 2020 census, 77.2% of housing units in Cherokee County were owner-occupied, so most people looking at a lift own the home and can make the change themselves. Renters should get the landlord's written approval first, since the rail fastens to the stairs.
The Georgia Department of Veterans Service – Canton Veterans Field Service Office at 220 Brown Industrial Pkwy, Suite 150, Canton, can help with VA paperwork; call (770) 720-3538.
The county's 2024 median household income was $108,115, but that figure says little about a retiree on a fixed income. The programs below are worth checking even in a well-off county.
The clearest local option is the Title III-B home modification program run through the Atlanta Regional Commission Area Agency on Aging. Georgia's own program manual lists installing or repairing chair lifts and stair climbers as an example of covered work, with a cap of $2,000 that can be raised by up to $1,500 more, for as much as $3,500 total.
Medicaid waivers, VA grants, USDA rural repair money and disABILITY LINK may also help, but most of their official descriptions do not mention stair lifts, and the VA HISA grant excludes stair glides. Call before you count on any of them.
The statewide intake line at (866) 552-4464 is a good first call for the aging and Medicaid programs. The Atlanta Regional Commission AAA office is at 229 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 100, Atlanta, (404) 463-3100.
An Older Americans Act program for people generally age 60 and older whose disability limits daily activities; stair lifts are covered, with modifications capped at $2,000 plus up to $1,500 more (up to $3,500 total). Call (866) 552-4464 to be screened.
A Medicaid waiver for Georgians age 65 and older, or younger with a qualifying disability, who need nursing-facility level care but want to stay home; its listed services do not mention stair lifts or home modifications. Call (866) 552-4464.
A Medicaid waiver for Medicaid or SSI-eligible people age 65 and older, or younger with a qualifying disability, who need nursing-facility level care; stair lifts and home modifications are not mentioned among its services. Call (866) 552-4464.
A lifetime VA benefit of up to $6,800 for service-connected disabilities or up to $2,000 for other qualifying conditions, for medically necessary home changes. The VA specifically excludes stair glides and porch lifts, so it will not pay for a stair lift.
Grants for veterans with severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA on a permanent home (FY2026), with smaller TRA amounts. The VA does not name stair lifts as covered or excluded, so ask the Canton Veterans Field Service Office at (770) 720-3538.
Loans up to $20,000 at 1% and grants up to $7,500 for homeowners 62 and older to remove health and safety hazards, only in USDA-designated rural parts of the county. The source does not list stair lifts as a covered repair.
A nonprofit serving people with disabilities of any age in a 12-county metro Atlanta area that includes Cherokee County, working with partners on home modifications case by case. Stair lifts are not specifically listed, so call (404) 687-8890 to ask.
Older adults
229 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 100, Atlanta, 30303
Veterans
220 Brown Industrial Pkwy, Suite 150, Canton, 30114
Yes. The Title III-B home modification program through the Atlanta Regional Commission Area Agency on Aging generally serves people age 60 and older with a disability that limits daily activities, and it lists chair lifts and stair climbers as covered work. Call (866) 552-4464 to start a screening.
Not through the HISA grant, which excludes stair glides and porch lifts. The SAH and SHA grants do not mention stair lifts either way, so a veteran with a severe service-connected disability should ask the Canton Veterans Field Service Office at (770) 720-3538.
The official service lists for both waivers cover things like personal care, adult day care, home-delivered meals and respite care, and do not mention stair lifts or home modifications. It is still worth asking at (866) 552-4464.
Usually, yes. A straight lift on the basement stairs is common, and if the flight turns, a curved rail can be made to fit. We look at the stairs in person before recommending anything.
The Section 504 program applies only to USDA-designated rural portions of Cherokee County, not its incorporated Atlanta-suburb cities. It also does not list stair lifts as a covered repair, so check eligibility first.
In most cases it does. Townhouse stairs tend to be narrow, so a slim rail with a folding seat and footrest keeps the stairs usable for everyone else in the home.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
