Portsmouth grew up where the Scioto River meets the Ohio, and many of its older buildings still show it. The Boneyfiddle Commercial Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the streets around it hold tall, multi-story homes built for a busy 19th and early 20th century river port. Out past the city, in places like Wheelersburg, Lucasville, Minford, South Webster and Friendship, the houses spread out across wooded hills.
That mix matters when you are sizing up a stair lift. A narrow staircase in an old Portsmouth house and a short flight in a split-level near New Boston are two very different jobs. This page walks through what we see across the county's 13 towns, which lift types tend to fit, and where Scioto County families can look for help paying for one.
Scioto County had 33,108 housing units in the 2020 Census, and a good share of the oldest ones sit in and around Portsmouth. Homes from the river-port era often have steep, narrow stairs, and some turn at a landing partway up. Structural conditions in these houses vary a lot from one to the next.
A straight stairway, even an old one, usually takes a straight rail lift without much trouble. When the stairs turn or wind, a curved rail is built to that exact staircase, which takes more measuring and more lead time. We check the treads, the wall side and the space at the top and bottom before recommending either one.
Across the rest of the county you will find single-family homes, split-level homes, ranch-style homes and townhouses. A split-level often has two short flights instead of one long one. Depending on how they connect, that can mean two straight lifts or one curved rail.
Ranch-style homes usually keep daily living on one floor, so the question there is often a basement stair or the steps into the house. Townhouses tend to have a single straight flight between floors, which is usually the simplest install. Walk-up apartments can sometimes take a lift too, but a renter will need the owner's permission first.
Scioto County covers 616 square miles of the unglaciated Appalachian foothills, and the western half is heavily forested, including more than 63,000 acres of Shawnee State Forest. About 55.3% of residents live in rural areas. Many of those homes sit on slopes, with porch or entry steps that are harder to manage than the stairs inside.
For outside steps, an outdoor-rated stair lift is built to handle the weather. Where someone uses a wheelchair, a platform lift or an exterior ramp may be the better answer, though a long ramp needs room that a hillside lot does not always have. We look at the grade and the entry before suggesting which way to go.
Per the 2020 Census, 66.3% of housing units were owner-occupied. Owning the home makes a stair lift easier to plan, since there is no landlord to ask and most funding programs listed below expect the applicant to own the house.
For veterans, the Scioto County Veterans Service Office at 612 6th St., Suite A, Portsmouth, can help with VA benefit claims. Call (740) 353-1477.
Cost is a real concern here. The median household income was $50,609 as of 2024, and the poverty rate was 21.8%. Several programs serve the county, but be aware that none of the sources we reviewed names stair lifts as a covered item, and the VA HISA grant explicitly excludes stair glides.
Area Agency on Aging District 7 in Rio Grande is the main starting point for older residents. Its general line is (800) 582-7277, and its office number is (740) 245-5306. Ask a case manager directly whether a stair lift could be approved as adaptive equipment or an accessibility upgrade in your situation. Statewide options also include the Ohio Home Care Waiver and Ohio HOME Choice (Money Follows the Person).
A Medicaid home and community waiver for Ohioans age 60 or older who are financially eligible and need nursing-facility level care; it lists minor home modifications and adaptive equipment, but stair lifts are not named. Scioto County residents apply through AAA7 at (800) 582-7277.
Grant help for critical home repairs and accessibility upgrades for older homeowners in AAA7's 10-county area, which includes Scioto County; stair lifts are not specifically listed. Call (800) 582-7277 to ask whether one could qualify.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners age 62 or older in eligible rural areas with very low incomes; stair lifts are not named, though grants go toward removing health and safety hazards.
A VA grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000 for home improvements tied to a covered disability, but it explicitly excludes stair glides and porch lifts. The Scioto County Veterans Service Office can help at (740) 353-1477.
Up to $126,526 for veterans who own their home and have certain serious service-connected disabilities; stair lifts are not specifically mentioned. Call the county veterans office at (740) 353-1477 for help applying.
Up to $25,350 toward adapting a permanent home for veterans with qualifying disabilities such as loss of use of both hands; stair lifts are not specifically mentioned. Reach the county veterans office at (740) 353-1477.
A Portsmouth office that helps veterans with VA benefits, transportation and emergency financial assistance; it does not list home modification funding but can help with VA housing grant claims. Call (740) 353-1477.
Weatherization, electric repair and heating assistance for income-eligible county households; it does not list stair lifts or accessibility work. Call (740) 354-7541.
Older adults
Rio Grande, Rio Grande, 45674
Veterans
612 6th St., Suite A, Portsmouth, 45662
Often it can, but these homes vary widely in stair layout and structural condition. A straight flight usually takes a straight rail, while stairs that turn need a custom curved rail. We measure before recommending anything.
The HISA grant explicitly excludes stair glides and porch lifts. The SAH and SHA grants do not mention stair lifts either way, so ask the Scioto County Veterans Service Office at (740) 353-1477 about your case.
PASSPORT starts at age 60, and USDA Section 504 grants require age 62 or older. USDA 504 loans do not carry that age limit for very low-income rural homeowners, and veterans may look at the VA programs.
It depends on the entry steps and the slope of the lot. An outdoor-rated stair lift suits someone who can sit and transfer, while a platform lift or ramp suits a wheelchair user if there is room.
For older residents, start with Area Agency on Aging District 7 at (800) 582-7277 or (740) 245-5306. Veterans can start with the county veterans office at (740) 353-1477.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
