NY more expensive than L.A.?

Cost-of-living surveys are, at best, imprecise exercises. There are just too many variables (location, store, quantity, etc.) Still, the consulting firm Mercer gets paid good money each year to compare prices in more than 200 cities around the world. This time out, NY was ranked the 27th priciest city in the world, and number one in the U.S. Los Angeles was 55th in the world and second in the U.S. All right, whatever they say. But look at some of the comparisons (via Business Insider):

Rent of luxury two-bedroom apartment, unfurnished:
L.A.: $2,500
NY: $4,000

Movie ticket
L.A.: $10.50
NY: $12.00

Music CD
L.A.: $18.99
NY: $15.21

Cup of coffee, including service:
L.A.: $4.50
NY: $4.40

Fast food hamburger meal
L.A.: $5.59
NY: $5.95

Gallon of mid-grade gas
L.A. $2.88
NY: $2.99

Gallon of milk:
L.A.: $3.98
NY: $4.58

Well, for openers, they have gas prices all wrong. At last check, L.A. was running about a quarter a gallon higher. A music CD? (Do they even sell those things anymore?) How does Mercer determine that buying one in NY is almost four bucks cheaper than in L.A.? Milk prices are also way off too -- unless you're shopping at NY's Gristede's. Apartment rentals are probably closest to the mark (helping to explain why NY is considered so expensive), but even that metric depends a lot on location. Moral of the story: When considering a transfer from one city to the other, avoid the Mercer surveys and just look at the weekly promotions at Ralphs.