A new study by LendingTree showed millennials in three Midwestern areas are seeking auto loans more often than their counterparts in any of the nation’s top 50 cities.

Dealerships and their finance companies might be seeing more activity from consumers between 18 and 34 years of age percolating in Memphis, Tenn., Milwaukee and St. Louis, according to LendingTree’s analysis released on Wednesday.

LendingTree analyzed auto loan requests received from May 15 of last year and May 15 of this year, along with requests from the total population of auto-loan-seekers in the same period. The city ranking is created from the percentage of all purchase auto loan requests that were submitted by consumers in the millennial generation.

Memphis topped the list with 41.98 percent of all auto loan requests coming from millennials, followed by Milwaukee at 40.68 percent and St. Louis at 37.88 percent.  Average auto loans to young borrowers in those cities were $11,791.22, $11,413.42 and $12,352.36, respectively.

On average, 33 percent of all auto loan requests through LendingTree come from applicants under 35 years old. Nationally, their auto loans average $14,825.34, compared to $17,938.74 for applicants 35 and older.

“With unemployment among millennials improving, coupled with lower interest rates and low gas prices, the share of millennial auto loan requests is on the rise," said Doug Lebda, founder and chief executive officer of LendingTree.

“Although the share of millennial auto loan requests is relatively lower in densely populated urban areas, the auto market appears to be enticing aging millennials,” Lebda continued.

Despite the widely held belief that millennials will become an increasingly smaller segment of the total vehicle-buying population, LendingTree insisted the share of auto loan requests from millennials has been increasing in recent years. The company indicated the share of millennial auto loan requests has climbed from roughly 27 percent in early 2013 to about 34 percent in 2016, suggesting a return of younger buyers to the car market. 

Additionally, LendingTree analyzed the top 10 makes and models requested by millennials when completing a loan request in the past 12 months.

LendingTree went on to mention that about 53.6 percent of millennial auto loan requests in the past 12 months were for new vehicles and 46.4 percent of requests were designated for the purchase of used vehicles. 

For borrowers 35 and older, 55.8 percent of requests were for the purchase of new vehicles and 44.2 percent for used, suggesting millennials are slightly less likely to finance the purchase of a new vehicle compared to borrowers 35 and older.