How many seniors live in Naperville?

15.3% of Naperville's 150,692 residents are 65 or older, 23,032 people (Census American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates). The city straddles DuPage County, which had 181,684 residents 65 and over on July 1, 2025, and Will County, which had 119,202 (Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates).

Who licenses remodeling contractors in Naperville?

Nobody at the state level: Illinois has no statewide general contractor license. Naperville registers electrical contractors and requires a permit for all electrical work; plumbers hold a state license from IDPH. Ask the city's building department whether your contractor is registered, and get the written contract and consumer rights pamphlet the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act requires on any job over $1,000.

Is a stair lift or a main-floor suite the better fix for a Naperville two-story?

A straight-rail stair lift ($3,000 to $20,000 installed nationally) is the quicker fix when the bedrooms are upstairs and the bathroom works. A main-floor bedroom and bath is the longer answer when the stairs, the laundry and the bathroom are all problems at once. A certified aging-in-place specialist can tell you which one the house can take.

Are there programs that help pay for accessibility work in Naperville?

The Illinois Housing Development Authority's Home Repair and Accessibility Program funds up to $50,000 per home for owners at or below 80% of the area median income, through local grantees that serve DuPage and Will counties and often hold waitlists. Most Naperville families pay directly. AgeGuide, the Area Agency on Aging for both counties, is at 630-293-5990.

Aging-in-Place Remodeling in Naperville, IL: Stairs, Baths, Costs

Q: What does an accessible bathroom cost in Naperville?

National ranges run $2,500 to $9,000 for a curbless shower conversion and $6,600 to $28,000 for a full accessible bathroom. Chicago-area construction wages averaged $40.87 an hour against $31.42 nationally in May 2025 (Bureau of Labor Statistics), so expect quotes toward the top of those ranges. Get 3 written quotes.

Naperville is 15.3% residents 65 and over, 23,032 people, with a median home value of $540,200 (Census American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates). It sits across DuPage County, which had 181,684 residents 65 and over on July 1, 2025, and Will County, which had 119,202 (Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates). The median Naperville home was built in 1990: a two-story with the bedrooms upstairs and a full basement. Illinois has no statewide general contractor license, so the check is the city registration, the insurance certificate and the written contract. The projects that come up most are a stair lift, a curbless shower upstairs and a main-floor suite.

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Naperville by the numbers

15.3% of Naperville's 150,692 residents are 65 or older, 23,032 people; median household income is $155,105 and the median home is worth $540,200, against Illinois medians of $83,390 and $263,300 (Census American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates).
74.8% of homes are owner-occupied and 62.8% single-family detached; the median home was built in 1990 (same source).
DuPage County had 181,684 residents 65 and over on July 1, 2025, 19.4% of the county, up 17.4% since 2020; Will County had 119,202, 16.7%, up 20.7% (Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates).

The homes here

A 1990 two-story over a basement. The typical house from Naperville's 1980s and 1990s boom is a two-story colonial with every bedroom and the main bath upstairs, a powder room on the first floor and a full basement with the laundry. That is three staircases a day: up to bed, down to the washer, and the garage step.

The stairs. The straight staircase in a 1990 colonial is the easy case for a stair lift: a straight rail, $3,000 to $20,000 installed nationally with averages near $7,000 to $8,000, and a second lift on the basement stairs if the laundry stays down there. In a larger house a home elevator or platform lift can go where a stacked closet sits.

The main floor. The longer answer is a main-floor bedroom and bath: a first-floor study becomes the bedroom and the powder room grows into a full bath with a curbless shower, with the plumbing run through the basement ceiling and the laundry moved up to a first-floor closet.

The bathroom and the entry. Upstairs, a bathroom safety remodel replaces the tub-shower with a curbless shower, a bench, grab bars and a comfort-height toilet. Outside, Chicago O'Hare averages 38.4 inches of snow a year (National Weather Service, 1991 to 2020), so the stoop gets railings on both sides and a short ramp goes at the garage step, out of the weather.

Licensing and permits in DuPage and Will counties

Illinois has no statewide general contractor license. The state licenses roofers (IDFPR) and plumbers (IDPH, license number on every ad); everything else is the city's business. Naperville registers electrical contractors and requires a permit for all electrical work; whether it registers general contractors is not stated on the city site, so ask the building department before you sign. The Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act applies to every job over $1,000: a written contract with the total cost and the business address, the "Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights" pamphlet with a signed acknowledgment, and liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. Ask for the certificate of insurance and check the Attorney General's complaint history. The Illinois page has the full state rule.

Who pays

Most Naperville families pay directly, from savings, a home equity line or siblings splitting the cost: no pre-approval, your choice of contractor. Paying out of pocket covers the tools. AgeGuide, the Area Agency on Aging for DuPage and Will counties, is at 630-293-5990. The income-limited help is the state's Home Repair and Accessibility Program, up to $50,000 per home at or below 80% of the area median income, run in DuPage County by The Neighbor Project and North West Housing Partnership and in Will County by the county, with waitlists likely; Rebuilding Together Aurora does free safety repairs for low-income homeowners and lists Naperville in its area. Modifications made for medical reasons can count as a deductible medical expense (tax deductions), and a long-term care policy often includes a capped home modification benefit. Original Medicare pays nothing toward remodeling; for Medicaid, ask the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services what is covered and whether there is a waitlist; veterans should ask the VA about the HISA grant.

Common projects in Naperville

Chicago-area construction wages averaged $40.87 an hour against $31.42 nationally in May 2025 (Bureau of Labor Statistics), so expect quotes above the national ranges. Get 3 written local quotes.

Stair lift: $3,000 to $20,000 installed nationally; a straight rail is the cheap end.
Bathroom safety remodel: $6,600 to $28,000 for the full accessible bathroom, $2,500 to $9,000 for the curbless conversion alone.
Main-floor bedroom and bath: varies by home; conversion or addition drives it.
Railings and grab bars: about $85 to $300 per bar installed.

Ready to talk to a certified aging-in-place remodeler? Request a match and talk to a licensed remodeler serving Naperville.