The Fact
No. BLS says CPI index levels for different areas cannot be used to compare which area has a higher cost of living. The indexes measure price change from each series’ base, not absolute price levels across places.
What This Means
A city with a CPI index of 200 is not necessarily more expensive than a city with an index of 150.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Concepts. https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/concepts.htm