Walk through Jacksonville and you see a town that stopped changing after the railway bypassed it in 1884. More than 100 buildings there are part of a U.S. National Historic Landmark, and Ashland adds 59 individual structures and four historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of those houses are multi-story, and their stairs were built long before anyone thought about aging in place.
The rest of the county's 17 towns, from Medford and Central Point to Shady Cove, Prospect and Butte Falls, mix single-family homes, townhouses, row houses, walk-up apartments and split-level homes. Add the slopes between the Cascade and Siskiyou ranges, and a lot of households here face stairs both inside and at the front door. This page covers which kind of stair lift tends to fit and where local help with the cost can come from.
Homes like the B.F. Dowell House (1859), the oldest Italianate brick residence in Oregon, or Ashland's Orlando Coolidge House (1875) and Isaac Woolen House (1876) show the kind of building common in these two towns. Houses of that era usually put bedrooms upstairs, with the only full stairway running from the main floor.
If that staircase runs in one straight line, a straight stair lift is the simplest fit. Older stairways often turn at a landing or wind near the top, and those need a curved rail made to match the steps. We measure the stairs in person before recommending either one.
A split-level home has short runs of stairs between floors rather than one long flight. Each run may need its own lift, or a single rail may follow the turn, depending on how the levels connect.
Townhouses and row houses tend to have narrow, straight interior stairs, which usually suit a straight lift. In a walk-up apartment the stairs are often shared, so a renter should talk with the building owner before planning any installation.
Jackson County covers 2,802 square miles of valley floor and foothills, with Bear Creek running past Medford, Ashland, Phoenix, Talent and Central Point. Away from the flat valley floor, many homes sit on sloped lots with steps up to the entry.
For those entry steps, an outdoor stair lift built for weather exposure is one option. Where someone uses a wheelchair, a vertical platform lift can raise the chair itself instead of asking the person to transfer to a seat.
Of Jackson County's 171,940 residents, 21.1% are 65 or older, so a good share of families are thinking about stairs now or will be soon. About 60.3% of households own their home, which matters because several funding programs require the applicant to own and live in the house.
Those with a service-connected disability may qualify for VA housing grants, covered in the next section.
The clearest local option is Oregon Project Independence-Medicaid (OPI-M), which lists home modifications among its services and has no cost-share for households that qualify. The 2025 limits are income up to $5,217 a month and assets up to $94,523.
A good first call is the Aging and Disability Resource Connection run by Rogue Valley Council of Governments, which can point you toward OPI-M and other in-home help. Homeowners with lower incomes can also ask Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity about its A Brush With Kindness (ABWK) program, and veterans can ask the Jackson County Veteran Services Office about VA grants. Details for each are listed below.
A state Medicaid-funded in-home services program for Oregon residents who need help with daily activities but do not yet qualify for full Medicaid long-term care, and it explicitly includes home modifications. Call (855) 673-2372.
The local information, referral and options-counseling hub for seniors, people with disabilities and caregivers; it does not fund stair lifts itself, and its page does not list them, but it can connect you to programs like OPI-M. Call (541) 618-7572.
Repairs of up to $3,000 per household for homeowners below 80% Area Median Income, with covered work listed as painting, ramps, grab bars and other minor repairs; stair lifts are not named. Call (541) 779-1983.
A federal grant of up to $126,526 (2026 maximum) to buy, build or change a home for veterans with severe service-connected disabilities; stair lifts are not named on the VA page. The Jackson County Veteran Services Office at (541) 774-8214 can help with questions.
A federal grant of up to $25,350 (2026 maximum) to adapt a home for veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities; stair lifts are not named on the VA page. Contact the Jackson County Veteran Services Office at (541) 774-8214.
A federal grant to modify a family member's home where an SAH- or SHA-eligible veteran is temporarily living, up to $50,961 or $9,100 depending on eligibility (2026 maximums); stair lifts are not named. Contact the Jackson County Veteran Services Office at (541) 774-8214.
Older adults
155 N 1st St., Central Point, 97502
Veterans
140 S. Holly St, Medford, 97501
Usually, yes. Many of these multi-story homes have one main staircase, and a straight lift fits a single straight run while a curved rail is made for stairs that turn at a landing. We look at the stairs in person to see which one fits.
That is the group Oregon Project Independence-Medicaid (OPI-M) is meant for, and it lists home modifications among its services. The 2025 limits are income up to $5,217 a month and assets up to $94,523. Call (855) 673-2372.
Call the Aging and Disability Resource Connection at (541) 618-7572. Rogue Valley COG Senior & Disability Services also has an office at 155 N 1st St., Central Point, 97502, phone (541) 664-6674.
An outdoor stair lift made for weather exposure can handle entry steps. If the person uses a wheelchair, a vertical platform lift raises the chair without a transfer to a seat.
The Jackson County Veteran Services Office at 140 S. Holly St, Medford, 97501, phone (541) 774-8214, can explain the VA SAH, SHA and TRA grants. These are for veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities, and the VA page does not name stair lifts specifically.
Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity's A Brush With Kindness (ABWK) program offers up to $3,000 per household to homeowners below 80% Area Median Income. Its listed work includes ramps and grab bars, and stair lifts are not named, so call (541) 779-1983 to ask.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
