Home Safety for Older Adults
A guide on home safety for older adults, with a printable checklist to help assess your home for risks.
Key Takeaways:
- NCOA works to compile resources for older adults’ safety to ensure everyone has the support necessary to maintain their independence.
- 74% of adults over the age of 50 live in single-family homes.
- When assessing your home’s safety, consider going room-by-room with our comprehensive checklist to ensure you find all potential hazards.
- Some of the biggest home safety concerns older adults face include fires, falls, and medication use
- Mattresses and bedding are some of the primary causes of home fires and deaths, whereas falls happen due to clutter, obstacles like stairs, and even medication interactions
- Many safety modifications for your home are affordable and easy to do yourself.
As we age, our homes should continue to be a place where we feel safe, secure, and comfortable. But research shows the exact opposite is sometimes true. A 2014 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found 28.7% of adults over the age of 65 reported falling at least once in the last 12 months.1 Another study by the Hospital for Special Surgery found 60% of falls happen in the home.2 To help prevent falls and other accidents, you can make safety modifications to your environment and eliminate common hazards.
We have assembled this guide and checklist highlighting home safety tips and helpful devices to ensure your home, or your loved one’s home, continues to be a safe environment for aging in place.

