A succession of conservative governors has also emphasized South Carolina’s decidedly inhospitable climate for unions. Nikki Haley, the state’s former governor, used to talk about “kicking” organized labor with her high heels. And while that has been attractive to some big corporations based in the Upstate, not all boats have been lifted. The state ranks 43rd in median household income, and is one of the nation’s 10 poorest.

That helps explain why a candidate like Mr. Sanders, and his brand of democratic socialism, may do well here in the primary despite a statewide unemployment rate below 3 percent.

In Greenville, expensive condos, nice restaurants and downtown buzz are driving up prices in historically black and working-class neighborhoods like the West End, said the Rev. Patrick Tuttle of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.

“They’re simply being kicked out,” he said. “Maids, Family Dollar cashiers, people who set the tables and pour the water glasses at the many new hotels and banquet facilities, many of which were built in the last five years.”

Mr. Sanders’s campaign recently posted a video to Twitter decrying the gentrification pressure in Greenville, which is about 63 percent white and where the average household income is nearly $83,000.

The Rev. Stacey D. Mills of Mountain View Baptist Church, which is historically African-American, was among the black activists who appeared in the video. In an interview this week, Pastor Mills said that he was not against free trade — but that he wants to see the local education system help train those who have been left out.