In Trenton and Pollocksville, many of the older two-story farmhouses still have the main bedroom or the only full bath upstairs. Those homes go back to the county's tobacco and lumber days, long before anyone wrote accessibility codes, and their stairs were built for young farm families.
Jones County is rural and spread out, with Maysville, Pollocksville and Trenton as its three towns and a lot of farmland, swamp and forest in between. If a parent is starting to struggle with the stairs, this page walks through which kind of lift fits the homes here and which local and state programs are worth a phone call.
Most homes here are single-family, detached houses. In an older two-story farmhouse, the staircase is often a single straight run, and a straight stair lift is usually the simplest and quickest install. If the stairs turn at a landing or wrap around a corner, a curved lift built to that staircase is the usual answer.
Ranch-style homes keep most living on one floor, so the interior stairs are rarely the problem. Split-level homes are different. They have short flights between levels, and the right choice depends on which levels a person actually needs to reach every day.
Jones County sits on North Carolina's Coastal Plain, about 470.71 square miles of low-lying farmland, swamps like the Great Dover Swamp and White Oak Pocosin, and part of the Croatan National Forest, with the Trent River running through it. The ground is flat, so single-level living is common.
The catch is the age of the housing. A house built before modern accessibility codes can have narrow or steep stairs, and that is what we look at first when we measure. Where steps at an entry are the issue instead of an indoor staircase, an outdoor lift or a platform lift may be worth discussing.
The county's 2020 population was 9,172, and the median age was 48.9. About 24.3% of residents were 65 or older, a large share for a county this size.
Most people here own their homes. Of the 4,635 housing units counted in the 2020 census, 77.6% were owner-occupied, which matters because many repair and modification programs require that the applicant own and live in the home.
No program listed below names stair lifts outright, and one VA grant rules them out. Several do cover accessibility modifications or home repairs in general, so the honest approach is to call and ask whether a stair lift can be included in your case.
The best first call for someone 60 or older is the Eastern Carolina Council Area Agency on Aging in New Bern at (252) 638-3185. For veterans, the Jones County Veterans Service Office at 145 Francks Field Road in Trenton, (252) 448-1121, can help sort out VA benefits. The county's Urgent Repair Program has a short application window, from September 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026, so mark the calendar.
Statewide, North Carolina also has the Elderly or Disabled Property Tax Homestead Exclusion (G.S. 105-277.1), the NC Innovations Waiver and the Community Alternatives Program for Children (CAP/C). Those do not pay for a lift directly as listed here, but they may be worth asking about.
A county home repair grant funded by the NC Housing Finance Agency and run by the Jones County Manager's Office, with a $165,000 allocation expected to help about 11 households; eligible repairs include accessibility modifications, though stair lifts are not named. Applications open September 1, 2026 and close September 30, 2026; call (252) 448-7571.
A Medicaid waiver for adults 18 and older who are at risk of nursing-facility placement, which includes home accessibility and adaptation as a service; stair lifts are not named, so coverage depends on the plan of care and medical justification. Call (888) 245-0179 or apply through a CAP/DA case management provider or the local Dept. of Social Services.
The Area Agency on Aging for Jones County and the intake point for residents 60 and older to ask about in-home aide, minor home repair and any home-modification funding in the current year; stair lifts are not listed. Call (252) 638-3185.
A community action agency based in Newport, NC offering weatherization, heating and air repair and other home repairs for low-income homeowners; stair lifts are not listed and the counties served should be confirmed by phone. Call (252) 223-1630.
A VA grant of $6,800 or $2,000 lifetime for accessibility improvements like ramps and doorway widening, but it specifically excludes stair glides, so it does not cover stair lifts. The Jones County Veterans Service Office can help with the application at (252) 448-1121.
VA grants of up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) for major home adaptations for veterans with specific severe service-connected disabilities; stair lifts are not named and these grants are meant for larger projects. Call (252) 448-1121.
USDA repair loans up to $40,000 at 1% and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62 and older who cannot repay a loan, for very-low-income households in eligible rural areas, and Jones County is one. Accessibility repairs like walk-in tubs and wheelchair ramps are covered, but stair lifts are not named; call (919) 873-2000.
A state rehabilitation loan pool for owner-occupied homes of elderly, disabled or veteran residents under 80% of area median income, run through local partners on a rotating county basis; stair lifts are not listed and Jones County's 2026 participation is not confirmed. Call (919) 877-5700 to check.
Older adults
233 Middle Street, Suite 300, New Bern, 28560
Veterans
145 Francks Field Road, Trenton, 28585
Not through the HISA grant, which specifically excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts and are meant for larger adaptations. The Jones County Veterans Service Office in Trenton, (252) 448-1121, can help a veteran look at other VA benefits.
The 2026 window opens September 1, 2026 and closes September 30, 2026. Accessibility modifications are an eligible repair, though stair lifts are not named. Call the Jones County Manager's Office line at (252) 448-7571.
The CAP/DA Waiver serves adults 18 and older with disabilities who are at risk of nursing-facility placement, and it includes home accessibility and adaptation. Whether a stair lift is covered depends on the case manager's plan of care. Call (888) 245-0179.
Call the Eastern Carolina Council Area Agency on Aging at (252) 638-3185. Its office is at 233 Middle Street, Suite 300, in New Bern, and it can tell you what in-home and home-repair funding is open this year.
Usually, yes. A straight staircase takes a straight lift, and stairs that turn need a curved lift made to fit. We measure the width, steepness and any landings first, since many older homes here were built before modern accessibility codes.
Jones County is a USDA-eligible rural county. Very-low-income homeowners can apply for Section 504 repair loans up to $40,000, and those 62 and older who cannot repay a loan may get a grant up to $10,000. Stair lifts are not named, so ask at (919) 873-2000.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
