Among the factors that encourage the quality of education internationally, the social status of teachers is attracting particular attention. To date, the scientific literature has insisted that teachers generally rank themselves in the middle of the social scale. There is not yet any empirical evidence that certain factors (for instance related to the teaching work) explain more than others why some teachers feel that they enjoy a high, or low, social status as a professional group. Based on a questionnaire survey completed by 1813 French primary school teachers, our analysis confirms that the way teachers rank their professional group in the social structure varies according to objective elements, among which are work-related factors. However, we also stress the concomitant effects of subjective factors that are grounded not only in work experience but also in social trajectories and relationships. We discuss levers for enhancing how teachers evaluate their social condition.