Upper Allen Township grew by more than a quarter in a single decade — 18,059 residents in 2010 to over 23,000 by 2020 — and most of that growth landed as new subdivisions built up around older village cores like Grantham, Bowmansdale, and Shepherdstown. The two building eras don't have the same staircases: the older village homes tend toward narrow, steep runs with a landing partway up, while the newer construction out toward the Turnpike and Route 15 corridor runs taller two-story floor plans with one long straight flight. Either way, once the stairs become the thing keeping someone from a bedroom or a basement laundry room, a stairlift is usually less disruptive than trying to convert the house to single-level living.
Why a stairlift installed in Upper Allen, PA is planned around the way this specific community lives, not stamped out from a one-size-fits-all template.
The township covers 13.30 square miles in eastern Cumberland County, with Yellow Breeches Creek forming its southern border and both Interstate 76 (PA Turnpike) and the US Route 15 freeway crossing the relatively level valley terrain.
Source ↗Upper Allen Township's population surged 28.4% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses (18,059 to 23,183), reflecting a wave of newer subdivision construction layered onto older village cores like Grantham, Bowmansdale, and Shepherdstown.
Source ↗Upper Allen is an affluent commuter township with a median household income of $86,817 and only 4.2% of the population below the poverty line; 15.5% of residents are 65 or older, and Messiah University anchors the local institutional economy.
Source ↗How jobs tend to go for Upper Allen homeowners, where about 21% of residents are 65 or older. Drag to scroll, or use the arrows and dots below.
Luis installed a straight lift on our split-level in Winding Hill last fall. The stairs are that classic 1970s short flight — six steps up to the living room. He had the rail bolted in and tested within three hours. My father-in-law moved in with us after a stroke and uses it every day. The battery backup already kicked in during a January snowstorm and the lift kept running like nothing happened.
Our Shepherdstown home was built in 1870 and the staircase is steep and narrow. I was sure nothing would fit. Luis measured it and said the narrow-chassis model handles 28-inch stairs — ours were 30. The curved rail bends around the landing turn perfectly. Three weeks from assessment to install, and my wife can reach the second floor for the first time in two years.
We needed a curved lift for the half-turn landing in our Ashcombe Farms colonial. Luis came out, did the laser measurement, and had the custom rail fabricated. Install took about five hours. The rail hugs the wall so tightly the grandkids can still run up the stairs beside it. Five-year warranty, lifetime on the rail. No complaints at all.
Got an outdoor lift for my mother's rancher in Grantham — the front porch has five stone steps and she couldn't manage them in winter. Luis installed the weatherproof outdoor model in October, right before the first freeze. It's been through 20-degree mornings and snow and runs without a hitch. The weather seal holds up.
Luis put a straight lift in our Country Square colonial. Oak treads, standard straight run, installed in a morning. He walked us through the HISA grant paperwork — my father is a Vietnam veteran and the $6,800 service-connected benefit covered almost the whole thing. Luis handled the VA form submission himself.
We needed a platform lift for my brother, who uses a wheelchair — our Allen Glen home has 13 steps to the second floor. Luis installed the inclined platform with the black deck and yellow safety edges. It carries the wheelchair up smoothly, no transfer needed. Took about five hours, and the folded platform leaves plenty of stair width for the rest of the family.
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Compare your options honestly. A stairlift is the only choice that keeps you in the home you love, at a fraction of every alternative.
| Your option | Upfront cost | 10-year total |
|---|---|---|
| Stairlift Installation Best value Professional install by All American Stairlifts, Upper Allen PA | $2,750 – $14,700 One-time | $2,750 – $14,700 Lifetime use |
| Moving to a single-story home Selling, buying, closing, moving costs in the Cumberland market | $50,000+ Plus relocation stress | $50,000+ Loss of community ties |
| Assisted living facility Cumberland County average, private room | $4,500/mo Recurring | $540,000 And rising annually |
| In-home caregiver (8 hrs/day) Licensed home health aide, Florida market rates | $6,000/mo Recurring | $730,000+ Before wage increases |
| Home elevator installation Requires shaft construction, permits, months of work | $25,000 to $50,000 Plus renovation | $28,000 to $55,000 Includes maintenance |
Sources: AARP Cost of Care Survey 2025, Genworth Cost of Care Study, and Pennsylvania Department of Elder Affairs. Figures reflect Upper Allen metro averages.
Most Upper Allen homeowners qualify for at least one of these programs. We help you apply at no cost.
Up to $6,800 for service-connected veterans and their surviving spouses. One-time, tax-free, no repayment.
Eligibility: Veterans & surviving spousesHome & Community-Based Services Waiver may cover up to 100% of installation for income-qualified residents.
Eligibility: Medicaid + medical needWith a doctor's letter of medical necessity, the full cost is deductible on Schedule A as a qualified medical expense.
Eligibility: Taxpayers who itemize0% and low-APR plans through our lending partners. Soft credit pull, instant approval, no prepayment penalty.
Eligibility: All homeownersNot sure which applies? Our local specialist will walk you through every program you might qualify for during your free home assessment. Get started here →
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(800) 965-0350 Call Now. It's FreeUpper Allen's housing runs from 1850s stone farmhouses to brand-new subdivisions, and each shapes the rail. Shepherdstown's historic district has the steepest risers and narrowest treads — often curved-rail territory. Rosegarden and Winding Hill are dense 1960s–80s split-levels with short six-step flights that take a clean straight rail. Ashcombe Farms and Allen Glen are newer colonials with wider stairs but frequent half-turn landings. Grantham, near Messiah University, leans to older Capes and ranchers where front-porch steps call for an outdoor lift. Arcona and Creekstone add modern two-story plans with straight interior runs.
We also serve Lower Allen, Hampden, Shiremanstown, Camp Hill, Lemoyne, and New Cumberland across the West Shore.
See our full Pennsylvania service area →
Compare Our Upper Allen Stairlifts
Select a stairlift on the leftabove to see full specs, pricing, and how it compares to the alternatives.
Stairlift Types
Most common · From $2,800
The majority of Upper Allen homes have straight staircases. The rail bolts directly to the treads, installs in roughly three hours, and runs on a battery-backed DC motor — no wall attachments or rewiring.
vs Curved: 3x less expensive and installed in one visit. vs Home elevator: 10-15x less cost and no construction. vs Moving bedroom downstairs: Keeps your home exactly as it is.
Custom-built · From $9,000
Each curved rail is custom-bent to your exact stair geometry after a one-hour laser measurement — ideal for the half-turn landings common in Ashcombe Farms and the winding stairs of historic Shepherdstown homes.
vs Straight with landing break: One smooth ride instead of transferring seats. vs Home elevator: Half the cost, no construction permits, no shaft needed. vs Moving: A fraction of what selling and relocating costs.
Weatherproof · From $4,000
IP55-rated and built for central-PA winters — it shrugs off freeze-thaw cycles and the township's roughly 25 inches of annual snow without seizing. Common on the porch steps of older Grantham ranchers.
vs Standard stairlift outdoors: Won't rust, seize, or void its warranty. vs Exterior ramp: No permits, no concrete work, no lost yard. vs Home entry renovation: Installed in a single day.
600 lb Rated · From $5,050
Double the standard capacity with a 22-inch wide seat and reinforced rail mounts, rated to 600 lb. Works on both straight and curved stairs with the same roughly three-hour install.
vs Standard stairlift: Extra capacity and wider seat for maximum comfort. vs Custom furniture lift: A fraction of the price with faster install. vs Home elevator: Much lower cost with the same weight confidence.
When you call All American Stairlifts, you'll speak directly with a licensed installer who lives and works in Cumberland, PA.
Upper Allen Stairlift Specialist · 15+ years of experience
(800) 965-0350 [email protected]Proven local experience. Licensed. Insured. No surprises.
Every home is different. Here are six recent installs from Cumberland County. Tap any project to see the full gallery, tech specs, and the story behind it.
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Straight Stairlift, Standard Use
Estimated: $2,750 – $5,400
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Straight answers about cost, installation, and funding, no sales fluff. Browse by topic or call us if you have a question that isn't here.
It comes down to which of the two housing types you're in. A straight stairlift for one of the newer two-story homes near the Turnpike is the simpler, less expensive job because the rail runs in one uninterrupted line. A curved rail for an older Grantham or Bowmansdale home with a landing partway up the stairs costs more because the rail has to be custom-measured and bent to that exact turn — there's no off-the-shelf piece for it.
Generally yes, and it's worth budgeting for if your Upper Allen home is one of the older village-core properties around Shepherdstown or Bowmansdale. Every curved rail is built to that one staircase, so you're paying for custom fabrication, not a standard part pulled off a shelf like you'd get with a straight run.
With homeownership around 75% here, most of the people I talk to are planning to stay put rather than sell and downsize, which usually pushes them toward the sturdier, code-compliant rail systems meant for years of daily use rather than a short-term rental unit.
A straight rail — the more common setup in the newer subdivisions — typically goes in within a few hours since the parts are standard. A curved rail for one of the older village-core homes takes longer because the rail has to be fabricated to match that staircase's landing and turn before the crew ever shows up to install it.
No — the rail bolts into the stair treads themselves, not the wall, which matters in the older Grantham and Bowmansdale homes where the stairwell walls are original plaster and not something you want drilled into unnecessarily.
Yes. That's exactly the situation a curved rail is built for — it's fabricated to the specific angle and run length of your staircase, landing turn included, so the chair carries straight through without a gap or a manual transfer partway up.
It can, through Pennsylvania's Community HealthChoices (CHC) Waiver, which covers stairlifts as a home adaptation under Medicaid managed long-term services and supports. There's no fixed statewide dollar cap — it has to be cost-effective and prior-authorized by your managed care organization. Start with the PA CHC Enrollment line at 1-800-757-5042.
Look at the OPTIONS Program, run locally through Cumberland County Aging & Community Services. It's state-funded, not Medicaid, so there's usually a sliding-scale co-pay based on income, and home modifications are offered as a supplemental service rather than guaranteed — call (717) 240-6100 to ask what's currently available in Upper Allen.
Two separate options. Cumberland County's Caregiver Support Program pays one-time grants of up to $5,000 toward home modifications like a stairlift — call (717) 240-6110. Veterans can look at the VA's Specially Adapted Housing grant (up to $126,526 for FY2026) or the Special Home Adaptation grant (up to $25,350), both through 1-877-827-3702. And if neither program fits, the PA Assistive Technology Foundation offers 0% loans up to $7,000 or low-interest loans up to $60,000 total, with no income limit.
These are the three guides our Upper Allen customers read most often before booking. Written by our installers, not marketers.
VA HISA grants, SAH/SHA adaptations, and exactly how to file, for service-connected and non-service-connected claims.
VA HISA, Medicaid waivers, IRS medical deduction, state grants, and 0% financing, with the actual forms you need.
Straight vs curved, standard vs heavy-duty, indoor vs outdoor. A read that saves you from buying the wrong model.
Upper Allen Stairlift Specialist · 15+ yrs
I've put rails in both the old Grantham farmhouses and the newer developments off toward the Turnpike, and the two jobs rarely look alike — the older homes usually need a curved rail custom-bent for a landing turn, the new builds are almost always a straight shot that goes in in a few hours. With Messiah University pulling in younger renters, Upper Allen still has a real base of longtime homeowners who'd rather add a lift than sell the place they raised their family in, and a few of them have leaned on Cumberland County's caregiver grant to knock a chunk off the install cost.
Upper Allen Township (zip 17055) sits about nine miles west of Harrisburg in Cumberland County's West Shore corridor. Its mix of Shepherdstown stone houses, Rosegarden split-levels, and new Ashcombe Farms colonials means we see every stair configuration — steep 19th-century rises, short 1970s flights, wide modern returns, and outdoor porch steps on ranchers.
The rail bolts to the treads, not the walls, so your drywall stays intact whether it's a 2023 build or a 150-year-old farmhouse. Most straight installs finish in about three hours. Call (800) 965-0350 for a free in-home assessment.
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