According to its periodic table entry, how many electrons does nitrogen have in its valence level?

The valence level of an atom refers to the number of electrons that reside in the upper most energy level. Nitrogen has an atomic number of 7 and therefore has 7 electrons. The first energy level (1) holds 2 electrons, leaving 5 electrons to reside in the second energy level (2s and 2p). Therefore the valence of nitrogen is 5.