click to enlarge PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR/PAUL SABLEMAN

The city's Carondelet neighborhood, with its historic homes and reasonable prices, has drawn many younger buyers.

Clueless baby boomers in New York and San Francisco may joke about the avocado-toast-eating millennials living in their parents' basements — but here in St. Louis, the joke is on them. Here people ages 18 to 35 comprise a surprising 40.2 percent of all metro area homeowners.That's according to a recent study from apartment listing company ADOBO, which rounded up the percentage of millennial homeowners in the nation's 50 largest metro areas . St. Louis tied for No. 9 on the company's list, which is packed with affordable Midwestern cities.(Because really .... can we admit the problem for most younger workers is not the occasional $8 luxury appetizer, but the absolutelycost of housing in some American cities, coupled with the absolutely ridiculous cost of college?)Here are ADOBO's top ten, beginning with Ogden, Utah, and including Grand Rapids, Des Moines, Minneapolis and Baton Rouge:Barry Upchurch, president of the St. Louis REALTORS, says the reasons are simple: “We have had a consistently strong and affordable real estate market in St. Louis for the last year-and-a-half, and we have a great quality of life. Couple those two factors with our excellent job opportunities here, and it is easy to see how St. Louis has become a beacon for first-time buyers — including millennials.”What cities suck for young buyers? Naturally, the list includes the usual suspects: Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, San Francisco. Yeah, they look good on paper, but how the hell is anyone under 70 supposed to afford a $850,000 "starter home"?Here are the bottom 10, per ADOBO:So there you have it: Your daily reminder that some things about St. Louis are pretty good. After all, here you can have your home ownership dream — and eat your avocado toast, too.