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Aging in place
"I want to stay in my own house." It is a legitimate plan rather than a fantasy, provided it is treated as a project with a budget and a review date. Here is what the project involves.
The wish, and the gap
In AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey, 75% of adults 50 and older said they want to remain in their current home as they age, and 73% in their current community. That survey covered 3,090 adults aged 18 and over in summer 2024.[1]
The gap is the housing stock. Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies: "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] That is a combined definition, so a home missing only one of the three is still counted out; it does not mean 96% of homes are unusable. It does mean most homes need something.
Among people in AARP's survey who were planning alterations, the interest ran to bathroom upgrades such as grab bars and slip-resistant surfaces (72%), changes for easier mobility such as ramps and chairlifts (71%), medical emergency response systems (64%) and smart home security (44%). About one in four older homeowners would consider building an accessory dwelling unit for caregiving or to house a relative who needs care.[1]
The same JCHS work reports that in 2021 nearly 11.2 million older adults were cost burdened, spending more than 30% of income on housing — an all-time high.[2] Which is the part most aging-in-place advice skips: for a lot of households the obstacle is not a doorway width, it is the money.
What NIA says the project involves
NIA's guidance is unglamorous and worth following in order:[3]
- Plan before a lot of care is needed, so the person can make their own decisions. Work out what help is needed now and later, learn what community services cost, and set up the home in advance.
- Factor in the illnesses that are already there — NIA names diabetes and heart disease — and ask the health care provider how they may affect getting around or self-care later.
- Talk to family and caregivers about what support staying home actually requires, be realistic, and plan to revisit the decision as needs change.
- Go room by room. Correct immediate dangers first — NIA names loose stair railings and poor lighting — then work outward. It says not every suggested change is necessary, and that home safety should be re-evaluated periodically. Our home-safety page has what the evidence supports and who helps pay.
- Ask about help paying. NIA points to state housing finance agencies, social services departments, community development groups and federal programmes.
On help that comes into the house, NIA's list is: personal care with bathing, dressing, grooming, the toilet, eating and moving from bed to chair; household chores; meals; money management; health care including medications, wound care and equipment; transportation; and home safety features and help in case of a fall.[3] In-home support may be short-term after an operation or long-term.
The part that gets skipped: not being alone all day
NIA's suggestions here are concrete: trade services with a neighbour if you are able; ask your Area Agency on Aging, state or tribal aging office, or a religious community what exists; look for volunteer programmes where someone visits regularly; consider an adult day programme for social activity, exercise, meals and personal care during the day; and use respite when the regular caregiver is not available.[3] The village movement is another route.
NIA also mentions medical alert IDs and emergency alert systems, and suggests asking the doctor whether one fits.[3] Technology that helps has what these do and do not do.
And geriatric care managers: NIA describes them as trained professionals who will work with you to form a care plan and find services. Ask about credentials, scope, hourly fees, minimums and what any payer covers.[3]
When home stops being the answer
A plan is more honest when it names its own limits. The familiar ones are someone needing eyes on them through the night, a house that cannot be made safe, wandering starting, or the family caregiver reaching the end of what they can do — and that limit is real.
We are describing what families tell us rather than a validated threshold, and NIA's own framing is the better one: revisit the decision as needs change. Reaching a limit does not mean the plan failed. The in-between options exist for that point.
Who helps you locally, free. Your Area Agency on Aging gives free options counseling. Reach any of them through the federal Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov (Administration for Community Living).[4] More on the four people who help on Who helps me locally.
Quick answers
What percentage of older adults want to age in place?
In AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey — 3,090 adults aged 18 and over, surveyed in summer 2024 in English and Spanish — 75% of adults 50 and older said they want to remain in their current home as they age, and 73% want to remain in their current community. The widely quoted "nearly 90%" comes from older AARP surveys; 75% is the 2024 figure. [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. NIA's guidance is to plan before a lot of care is needed, work out what help costs, go through the home room by room correcting immediate dangers first, and re-evaluate as needs change. [2, 3]
What help can someone actually get at home?
NIA's list of home-based help covers personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming, using the toilet, eating, getting out of bed and into a chair), household chores, meals, money management, health care such as medications and wound care, transportation, and safety features and help in case of a fall. It also points to adult day programmes, respite when the regular caregiver is unavailable, volunteer visiting programmes, medical alert systems, and geriatric care managers. Your Area Agency on Aging knows what of that exists locally. [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.