Richmond Hill runs along the Yonge Street corridor, where condominium and mid-rise development has concentrated near Richmond Hill Centre and the transit hub at Yonge Street and Highway 7. Away from Yonge, the city is a mix of established neighbourhoods around Mill Pond and Bayview Hill, newer subdivisions in the north and the Oak Ridges community on the moraine. Yonge Street, Highways 404 and 407 and the Richmond Hill GO rail line produce traffic and rail noise for homes nearby.
Older homes in the Mill Pond area and Richmond Hill's historic core often have mixed renovation histories, so the real wall and ceiling construction can differ from room to room. Newer homes and townhouses are built to current code minimums, which limit but do not eliminate sound transfer between units.