Tuesday evening we heard updates from Mayor Wu's State of the City address, which honed in on creating a better city for the next generation. Yes — as the Mayor said, the city is "strong," and there are many new programs and initiatives that highlight Boston as a great place to grow up.

Wallethub recently ranked the Bay State in the No. 1 spot on its list of the "best states to raise a family," based on factors like affordability and availability of education + childcare. Here are a few local programs to support that claim.

All BPS students will soon enjoy free admission to six educational and cultural institutions on the first and second Sundays of each month. When the pilot program kicks off in February, every BPS student + up to three family members will receive free admission to the Boston Children’s Museum, Franklin Park Zoo, Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, and the New England Aquarium.

Over the summer, the city introduced programs to teach residents how to ride a bike and offered free swim lessons. There are also plenty of parks, green spaces, and outdoor adventures to be had for every Bostonian, no matter your age.

Massachusetts has 302 school districts, including Boston Public Schools, one of the most diverse school districts in the nation. The City of Boston is continuing its support to help BPS replace the entire school bus fleet with electric school buses by 2030.

Finally, in the spring, the city will launch a one-stop-shop designed to help parents and caregivers find and enroll in early education + childcare options across the city. Boston also offers free universal Pre-K, which was extended to 390 families last year.