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Aging in place
"I want to stay in my own house." That is a real plan, not a daydream, as long as you treat it as a project with a budget and a date to check how it is going. Here is what the project takes.
The wish, and the gap
In AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey, 75% of adults 50 and older said they want to stay in their current home as they age, and 73% in their current community. The survey asked 3,090 adults aged 18 and over in summer 2024.[1]
The gap is in the houses. Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies says: "fewer than 4 percent of US homes offered the three key features of accessible housing — single-floor living, no-step entries, and wide hallways and doorways."[2] A home must have all three to count, so a home missing just one is left out. It does not mean 96% of homes cannot be used. It does mean most homes need something.
Among people in AARP's survey who planned to change their homes, 72% were interested in bathroom upgrades such as grab bars and non-slip floors. 71% wanted changes that make it easier to get around, such as ramps and chairlifts. 64% wanted medical emergency alert systems, and 44% wanted smart home security. About one in four older homeowners would think about building a small second home on their lot (an "accessory dwelling unit") for a caregiver or a relative who needs care.[1]
The same Harvard work reports that in 2021 nearly 11.2 million older adults were "cost burdened," meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing. That was the most ever.[2] This is the part most advice on staying home skips. For a lot of families, the problem is not the width of a doorway. It is the money.
What NIA says staying home takes
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) gives plain advice, and it is worth following in order:[3]
- Plan before a lot of care is needed, so the person can make their own choices. Work out what help is needed now and later, learn what local services cost, and set up the home ahead of time.
- Think about the illnesses that are already there. NIA names diabetes and heart disease. Ask the doctor how they may affect getting around or self-care later.
- Talk to family and caregivers about what support staying home really takes. Be realistic, and plan to look at the decision again as needs change.
- Go room by room. Fix the urgent dangers first. NIA names loose stair railings and poor lighting. Then work outward. NIA says not every suggested change is needed, and that you should check home safety again from time to time. Our home-safety page covers what has been shown to work and who helps pay.
- Ask about help paying. NIA points to state housing finance agencies, social services departments, community development groups and federal programs.
For help that comes into the house, NIA lists: personal care with bathing, dressing, grooming, the toilet, eating and moving from bed to chair; household chores; meals; handling money; health care, including medicines, wound care and equipment; rides; and home safety features and help after a fall.[3] Help at home may be for a short time after an operation, or for the long term.
The part that gets skipped: not being alone all day
NIA's ideas here are concrete. Trade favors with a neighbor if you are able. Ask your Area Agency on Aging, your state or tribal aging office, or a place of worship what is offered. Look for volunteer programs where someone visits on a regular basis. Think about an adult day program for company, exercise, meals and personal care during the day. And use respite when the usual caregiver is away.[3] The village movement is another way.
NIA also mentions medical alert IDs and emergency alert systems, and suggests asking the doctor if one fits.[3] Technology that helps covers what these can and cannot do.
Then there are geriatric care managers. NIA describes them as trained professionals who will work with you to make a care plan and find services. Ask about their training, what they will do, their hourly fee, any minimum charge, and what insurance or programs will pay.[3]
When home is no longer the answer
A plan is more honest when it names its own limits. The usual ones: someone needs to be watched through the night; the house cannot be made safe; wandering starts; or the family caregiver has reached the end of what they can do. That limit is real.
These come from what families tell us, not from a tested rule. NIA's way of putting it is the better one: look at the decision again as needs change. Reaching a limit does not mean the plan failed. The in-between options are there for that point.
Free local help. Your Area Agency on Aging will talk through your choices with you for free. Find yours through the federal Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov (run by the Administration for Community Living).[4] To learn about the four kinds of local helpers and what each one does, see Who helps me locally.
Quick answers
What percentage of older adults want to age in place?
AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey asked 3,090 adults aged 18 and over in summer 2024, in English and Spanish. Of adults 50 and older, 75% said they want to stay in their current home as they age, and 73% want to stay in their current community. The "nearly 90%" you often see comes from older AARP surveys. 75% is the 2024 number. [1]
Is aging in place realistic?
Often, with work. Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies reports that "fewer than 4 percent of US homes offered the three key features of accessible housing — single-floor living, no-step entries, and wide hallways and doorways." So most homes need changes. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) says to plan before a lot of care is needed, find out what help costs, go through the home room by room and fix the urgent dangers first, and look again as needs change. [2, 3]
What help can someone actually get at home?
NIA's list of help at home covers personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming, using the toilet, eating, getting out of bed and into a chair), household chores, meals, handling money, health care such as medicines and wound care, rides, and safety features and help after a fall. It also points to adult day programs, respite when the usual caregiver is away, volunteer visitor programs, medical alert systems, and geriatric care managers. Your Area Agency on Aging knows which of those exist near you. [3, 4]
Sources and what they support
Sources checked 2026-09-19 using AI-assisted editorial research. This is a source check, not a clinical review.
- AARP, 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey. Supports the 75% and 73% figures for adults 50 and older, the sample of 3,090 adults aged 18 and over surveyed in summer 2024 in English and Spanish, the modification interest figures among those planning alterations (72% bathroom, 71% mobility, 64% medical emergency response, 44% smart home security), and the one-in-four accessory dwelling unit finding. Weighted survey results describing stated preferences, not a forecast of what people will do, and the modification percentages apply to those already planning changes rather than to everyone. An earlier version of this page said 51% of adults 50+ reported their home would need changes; we could not confirm that figure and have replaced it with the ones above.
- Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Housing America's Older Adults. Supports the quoted statement that fewer than 4 percent of US homes offered single-floor living, no-step entries and wide hallways and doorways together, and that nearly 11.2 million older adults were cost burdened in 2021, spending more than 30% of income on housing. The 4% figure depends on all three features being present, so it is not a count of unusable homes, and the Center notes it is the last available measurement rather than a current one.
- National Institute on Aging, aging in place: growing older at home. Supports all of the planning guidance quoted here, the named illnesses, the advice to be realistic and revisit the decision, the room-by-room safety approach with loose stair railings and poor lighting as examples and the note that not every change is necessary, the pointers to state housing finance agencies and other funders, the full list of home-based help, the community and isolation suggestions including volunteer visiting, adult day and respite, medical alert IDs and systems, and the description of geriatric care managers. Practical official guidance, not evidence that following it keeps anyone at home successfully.
- Administration for Community Living, Eldercare Locator. Supports the referral route to a local Area Agency on Aging for free options counselling. Which services exist, and whether they are funded this year, varies by county.
Adjusted in this pass: the "three projects" framing and the list of signs that home has stopped working are identified as our own editorial framing rather than research, and NIA's revisit-as-needs-change wording is given alongside them.