Is there possibly more text before or after this sentence? Perhaps the surrounding sentences talk about a past action such that "grown up" should be done in the past perfect compared to the surrounding sentence's past action.....

The sentence is perfectly correct, because the later time (past simple) was in the previous sentence. "In the fall of 1986, just out of college, I set out to hitchhike across the United States. I’d grown up in a Boston suburb where people’s homes were set behind deep hedges or protected by huge yards and neighbors hardly knew each other." "I'd grown up..." gives us the context for "I set out to hitchhike". The writer was very new to the experience.

If the speaker is telling a story from a past tense perspective, everything that happened before that time is in the past perfect: "When I visited China in 1985, I couldn't believe that so many people could live in one place. I'd grown up in a small southern town with a population of 1000." Here, for example, the author sets the time of his discourse in the past by starting his story with "When I visited China in 1985." Then he refers to his own childhood, which was obviously before his visit to China, using the past perfect "I'd grown up in..." Now let's look at how he would tell the same story from a present perspective: "I just came back from China. I can't believe that so many people can live in one place. I GREW UP in a small southern town..." because from a present perspective, everything that happened before NOW is in the simple past. I hope this makes sense - if not, please ask. Happy New Year!

definitely "grew up"

definitely "grew up"