Pretty self explanatory. If your school isn't that great and your GPA isn't that great, would applying to let's say the LA office give you a better shot at getting an SA interview, at least, than applying to the NY office.
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You have to remember that regional offices are a lot smaller, with significantly fewer analyst spots. Some would argue that getting into a regional office is even more difficult than getting into NY simply due to the lack of spots.
Agree with Crispy. Plenty of kids from USC/UCLA with good grades to fill those spots. Doesn't mean it's not worth trying, but I wouldn't expect it to be easier.
If it sounds easier, it probably isn't.
in the end you should apply to where you would like to be NY the analyst class is like 3~10 times bigger than some regional offices at my office, though not NY, only hired 2 analysts last year
applicants to offer ratio is probably the same if not lower
the smarter thing to do would be (for example) to apply to houston if you had energy/oil internships before, or to london office if you also speak fluent spanish/french, etc
you should apply to smaller / less prestigious firms, not smaller offices
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