The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has analyzed the effects of raising the federal minimum wage, using two options: One raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour in two steps, and one raising the wage rate to $10.10 in three steps.
Not surprisingly, the CBO concluded that the "$10.10 option would have substantially larger effects on employment and income than the $9.00 option would."
Overall, the CBO concluded:
Increasing the minimum wage would have two principal effects on low-wage workers. Most of them would receive higher pay that would increase their family’s income, and some of those families would see their income rise above the federal poverty threshold. But some jobs for low-wage workers would probably be eliminated, the income of most workers who became jobless would fall substantially, and the share of low-wage workers who were employed would probably fall slightly.
The report thus provides arguing points for both supporters and opponents of raising the minimum wage.