More than 50% of law school graduates from the 2011 class aren't earning enough to buy a house, according to a new study.

The study was done by University of St. Thomas Law Professor Jerry Organ, who wrote up the results in a forthcoming article in the Washington University Journal of Law and Policy.

Mr. Organ took a formula for measuring a law school graduate's economic viability developed by University of Louisville Law Professor Jim Chen and applied it to employment outcome data published on a per school basis by the American Bar Association for the class of 2011.

Graduates need to be earning an annual income that's at least two times their annual tuition -- or an income that's at least two-thirds of their law school debt -- to reach "marginal financial viability," according to the formula. Those below the threshold can't afford to buy a $100,000 house and struggle to retire their debt.

The study reinforces the dim job world for graduates. Law Blog reported last week that about 56% of 2012 graduates had long-term, full-time legal jobs. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the class of 2011 had little better than a 50-50 shot of landing a job as a lawyer within nine months of receiving a degree.